Harry Black
by SoapieSleeps
Summary: Instead giving Harry to Hagrid that night, Sirius keeps Harry. But, the Rat gets away and he is still blamed for his best friend's betrayal. Sirius flees to America where his distant cousin, Billy Black, lives. Challenge by AbNaGbEyL. On hold for editing.
1. Chapter 1

This is a Harry Potter/Twilight 'Harry Black' Challenge made by AbNaGbEyL:

Instead of handing Harry over to Hagrid that night, Sirius keeps him and doesn't go after Peter. Unfortunately, the Rat get's away and he is still blamed for his best friend's betrayal. Upon realizing this, Sirius flees to America where his -very- distant cousin and last respectable family member lives.

Billy Black had been born of a squib line that started a few hundred years before, but he happily accepts his cousin into his home and agrees to help him raise young Harry alongside his own son, Jacob.

Naturally, Jacob and Harry grow up as best friends and brothers...but will their bond hold when Harry falls in love with a vampire fifteen years later?

_If anybody's interested, I've tried to work out their ages so it's as close to cannon as possible. Rebecca and Rachel Black are both 11 at the start, and Jacob is 10 months old, while Harry is fifteen months old at the beginning of the story. Sirius Black is 22 years old at the beginning, while Billy Black is 34 and Rachel Black is 32._

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight or Harry Potter; they are copyrighted by their authors and are not owned by me; I'm not making money off this._

* * *

Chapter One

Billy Black's day started as any other day would have. He woke up to the about-to-blare alarm, gently shook his Sarah, his wife, awake, and took his morning shower. He roused Rebecca and Rachel awake in their bunk beds (earning a lovely bruise on his forehead for his efforts) and strutted his way down to the kitchen. Bacon sizzled when he plucked Jacob, his ten month old son, from Sarah's arms. His two daughters tromped their way down the stairs and shuffled ungracefully in seats. The identical twins drooled as their mother served the customary but never-tiring bacon. Both their parents were under the impression the pair were carnivores and sugar addicts, but somehow inherited some mutant ability that refused weight. Sarah was equally jealous and grateful for their metabolism, but Billy waited for the day he would hold his favorite Bowie knife against an arrogant boy who thought they were good enough for _his _daughter.

Jacob settled in his blue high-chair, and the family sat and ate breakfast. Sarah soon shooed the girls into the car, kissed Billy goodbye, and his girls went their way to school. Sarah as a kindergarten teacher, and his daughters as middle school, seventh grade students.

Billy spent the entire day with Jacob, making a strange attempt at lunch (in the end, he'd given up and fed the kid some strawberry jam that was meant for toast), and making himself some noodles to appease his stomach. By the time four o'clock rolled around, his daughters hopped off the bus and raced inside. Rebecca was eager to dump her school things on the ground and race up and hug Jacob. Rachel picked up her sister's discarded bag and walked upstairs to put them both away. "How's your day been, dad?" She asked.

"Been good," he replied. She looked suspiciously. "What did you guys eat? Mom didn't leave leftovers 'cause we took them to school."

"Well, I ate noodles.." Rachel glared at her father. "And what did Jacob eat?"

"Uh...well....he ate strawberry jam."

"DAD!" He winced. His daughters inherited their lungs from their mother, he swore. He wasn't really worried about their yelling; it was nothing compared to his wife. He prayed that they didn't tell their mother, otherwise, he would be sleeping outside in the rain, covered in mud and in the _literal_ dog house. He snatched Jacob from his daughter's arms and held him up to the yelling girls in some sad hope of escaping spittle. Jacob laughed in delight and clapped his hands, cooing over his sudden height. In the entire fiasco, the phone rang. Billy set Jacob on the ground in confusion. His daughters looked strangely at the phone, before running over the phone. "We don't know the number," they replied. "Must be for you dad!"

'Now, who would be calling?' he wondered.

With the thoughts still running through his head, he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Bill?" An unfamiliar accented voice.

"Who is this?" He asked in suspicion. His phone number wasn't handed left and right. Neither was his name. His children looked up in curiosity, but he waved them off. The pair began to entertain Jacob by playing with his squishy blocks.

"It's Sirius," the man on the other line coughed. Billy heard a faint wailing of a baby. "Do you remember me?"

Sirius. Sirius. "You're in England," Billy replied, thoughtfully. "I haven't talked to you since the wedding! How have you been?"

"Sort of a bad time for pleasantries," Sirius murmured back. "It's sudden, but please, can we live at your place?"

"Er-wait. We?"

"My godson and I. H-his parents," the man struggled with the words, "died. Just a few hours ago..."

"I...I'm sorry," Billy said, unsure of how to act. "Did I know them?"

"James Potter and Lily Evans..." the man replied, as if in a daze. "I..I need a place to hide out for awhile, Bill. Please."

"You can, don't worry about that, but why?" Billy asked. "I don't want to have policemen at my door arresting me for association or something," he joked.

The other line remained silent. "Uh, Sirius, don't tell me you actually...killed someone?"

"No, no.." Sirius said distractedly. Billy worried; it sounded like he was hyperventilating, and the baby was still wailing, but quieter. "You just got awful close to the real answer. They think..they think I killed Harry's p-parents. I didn't, I swear!" Sirius started to sob frantically. "I didn't, I didn't!"

"I believe you, I believe you," Billy assured. Charlie had given him lessons on dealing with panicking people when Sarah had freaked out on being pregnant. "I believe you, Sirius. I believe you. If the police come knocking--" Billy thought it wise not to mention one of his best friends was the police chief, "--I won't let them get you. I promise, Sirius. Now, how are you going to get here?"

"Portkey." He replied promptly. It was the only thing that he sounded completely sure of.

"Where will it go?"

"You..you live near Forks, don't you?" Sirius stammered.

"Yes. In the Indian Reservation, in La Push. Does the portkey go to Forks instead?" His daughters looked in confusion at the strange word, but took little notice to his conversation. They assumed it was an "adult" conversation over adult things.

"The beach in La Push," Sirius jabbered. "Only place I can remember right now near you..pick me up there?"

"Yeah, it's fine. When?"

"In the next hour or two." He heard the sound of cracking glass, and the wailing became more pronounced. "See you soon," Sirius said, hanging up.

Billy turned towards Jacob. Sirius was coming. "What have I gotten into?" Billy asked the baby boy. Jacob cooed and waved a hand of spit at Billy. He needed to call Sarah soon. No need for him to be sleeping on the couch after all....

* * *

Sirius scrambled from the shattered phone booth, ignoring the nicks and cuts he gathered when he accumulated. Harry was covered with a protection charm. There was nothing that could hurt him apart from dark curses, and his old teammates chasing after him were too scared that he'd use Harry as a shield. Not that he would ever do that. What self-respecting godfather would?

The dark-haired man darted down the street, scraped around the corner, and raced into an alleyway. Unfortunately for these Aurors, Sirius knew London like he knew Hogwarts. As such, he had no problems scaling a rusty fire escape, leaping across three roofs, and diving into the sewer to charm an illegal Portkey. However, it hardly meant that Harry didn't have a problem with it. Sewer rats shed away from the artificial light shining in from the street lights, and the smell stunk worse than troll puke. Harry wouldn't stop crying; Sirius gathered it was either from the stress of the night or the stink. Maybe he was hungry or had gone in his diapers, but that was something Sirius couldn't solve at the moment.

Sirius could hear the Aurors, stomping over the cement above him as he wandered around in the sewers with his wand to light the way. During Auror training, he realized many inconsistencies and holes that Aurors never really thought about. Underground, for one, was something that was never approached until the end. Sirius and James were the Auror prodigies because they thought about every _sort_ of attack, from above to below. They'd really only learned through pranks; wizarding kind only saw back and front. When they attacked from different angles, wizards were thrown for a loop. On top of that, Aurors didn't know anything about the Muggle world. A few dedicated ones took the time to understand a bit of the more important things and how to disguise, but few really knew how it worked. It was too easy to get them lost in muggle London, highly-trained special forces or not.

"Tempus," Sirius murmured. It had nearly been an hour since he had called Billy; time to make that portkey. Sirius looked around for an object, any object. In the end, he pulled a small sheet of metal from the rotting wall. Infusing his magic, and with a wave of his wand and a mumbled "_Portus_", he easily made a portkey. The Ministry boasted about how difficult it was, but he'd easily flirted one of the portkey makers, who revealed it was just like Apparation, only infusing the ideas and thoughts during Apparation into an object. 'Not too difficult, but an awful like charming something inanimate to think,' Sirius recalled.

He tucked the metal into Harry's baby blanket, cradling Harry in his arms as he waited for portkey to activate. It was almost 3 in the morning; seven at night, Billy's time. He desperately hoped he wouldn't be causing too much trouble for his cousin.....they hadn't been in contact for a long while. He'd stopped calling when the war had started catching up and calls could be traced, even if wizards didn't think much of it. Voldemort was a half-blood--he knew these things. The combination of a genius, insanity and magic was never good, and Sirius had always worried he would find a way to break the Marauders apart, either through death or grief. Sirius wasn't stupid; if Billy and his Squib family were killed, Sirius would be out for at least a month mourning. And so, in a rare act of personal protection, he had burned any bridges that tied him to the Black family in the United States.

The Aurors were tromping about, yelling orders above his head. He thought it would be inevitable until a muggle-born pointed out he might've gone in the sewers, but it would be a while before they thought of it. And hopefully, he would be long gone. He awaited the portkey, counting seconds.

Just as the Aurors had decided to check the sewers, dropping their heavy weights into the green water, the portkey activated. With a flash of blue, Sirius Black and Harry Potter left England.

* * *

Billy wasn't sure what to think. Sarah had come home, and he had explained the situation to them as best he could.

"It's my cousin from England," he explained. "He's the main branch of the family and he said he's in trouble."

"But why does he have to live with us?" Rachel, his smart daughter, asked.

"I'm the only cousin who likes him that isn't living in England or the Isles," Billy responded. "If I'm remembering the amount of family members that like him, it's only about three out of the entire bunch." Here, he shrugged. "They don't really like me either, so no harm, no foul."

Sarah walked up behind his chair and hugged him. "By any chance, was this the man at our wedding who thought it would be funny if he stole your tuxedo the day you were supposed to walk down the isle?"

Billy laughed. "Yes. Sirius is going to be coming here with his godson. I'm sorry for not saying so earlier, but he was distressed and I got the call today. He'll be here in the next hour or two. Is it..alright with you all?"

His family wisely kept silent at his words. It was physically impossible for a man from England to arrive in less than three hours, Rebecca thought. It was another thing that the twins would be hashing out late at night. "It'll be fine," his wife assured. "We have the guest room. How old his godson?"

"Just a little older than Jacob."

His daughters cooed and gossiped, acting like expecting mothers. Another poor boy to suffer under their attentions, Billy thought. His wife smiled cheerfully. "That's good; we won't have to buy another bed at least. We still have the extra cradle, and the playpen's big enough for Jake and Harry. It's all going to be fine. And look, we won't have to search for a friend." She tugged lightly at his shoulder-length hair, wrapping her arms around Billy's wide shoulders. "It's all good. Are you going to go pick them up? I'll get everything set up and cook some more dinner."

Billy nodded distractedly. His family was the greatest, he decided, to be so accepting of people they'd never really known about.

In a short span of time, Billy drove out to the beach he had brought Sirius cliff-diving, and climbed down to the rocks. It had been awhile since he had come around here. Everybody was a bit busy raising the next generation of Quileutes to have the month bonfires nowadays. The sky was overcast and the waves were rough and harsh tonight. He wasn't really sure where Sirius would pop up; the beach itself wasn't all that big, but he was desperately hoping that this was the one Sirius meant because otherwise, there was more than enough coastline that it would take him all night to find him. Not to mention, some of it was on forbidden Cullen territory, and even if they weren't residing right now, he loathed to step in it.

Fate seemed to be smiling on him today; Sirius appeared a hundred yards away, tumbling to the ground with a small bundle in his arms. Billy heard the clack of metal as Sirius struggled to stand. Billy raced towards him. "Sirius!"

"Bill?" Sirius seemed disorientated, wobbling on his unsteady legs. "Nice to see you."

Billy shuffled the man into his the old red truck, strapping him in with the seat belt (Sirius hadn't know what a seat belt was the first time, and in this state, wasn't likely to remember) and hopped into the driver's seat. He backed away from the cliff and onto the road. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, fine."

Billy looked at the bundle. "Your godson, right?"

"Harry James Potter," Sirius croaked. He struggled to unravel the blanket with his shaking fingers until a baby's head with a dark black mop of hair and pale skin was visible. His face was red, and Sirius carefully wiped the tear tracks from his cheeks. He was sleeping and sucking on his thumb like any other baby.

"He's cute. Sarah and the kids'll love him." Billy said, hoping to ease Sirius' fears. "We've got a lot of baby supplies because of Jacob, so it'll be fine."

The man nodded distractedly. "Cousin," Billy continued, worried. He wasn't seeing much of the kid he recalled back in high school. "What's been happening in the Wizarding World?"

"You don't keep up with it?" He inquired. Billy shook his head. "Sarah knows I'm a squib, but we haven't really told any of the children, apart from old tales and traditions. Until they've got to know, they're better off in the dark...being muggles."

Sirius nodded. He found it similar to Lily's attempt to protect her family by pushing them away. He personally didn't agree with the sentiment, but Lily had thought it was for the best, even if it broke her heart. "Sirius?" Billy asked, bringing Sirius back to the present.

"War broke out," Sirius replied harshly. "Dark Lord Voldemort rose to power in 1970."

"The terrorist? You told me he just murdered a few people here and there and that you'd all catch him soon enough though," Billy argued.

"He gathered followers. It's generally hard to catch one wizard when there are ten raids over the country," Sirius countered, tilting his head forward until his chin touched his chest. Sirius was tired of it all, his mind couldn't keep up. James was dead, Lily was dead...Harry was with him, they were running from the Aurors.....

The rest of the ride was silent. Billy didn't think it wise to confront Sirius and assure him it hadn't been his fault. Sirius was nothing but hard-headed, and would need more than kind words. Sirius was drowning in memories and regrets. If _only _he'd asked the Potter family out to dinner that night like he had planned....if _only_ he'd gotten his sense of mind and trusted Remus Lupin.....if _only_ he 'd hadn't chosen _Peter_...


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm personally sorry for the very late update. The reason(s) will be at the end, but again, I'm really sorry about it. There's a great deal more dialogue in here, and this particular chapter is from Sirius' point of view, and it's _before_ Billy talks to him._

* * *

_"Why is your boy still here?"_

_"I'm terribly sorry," his mother whispered. "His _Gryffindor_," she sneered, "friends have yet to save him. Apparently I can't even rely on them to get the blood-traitor out of my house."_

_The ladies laughed. It didn't really matter to them that he was sitting only a table away. "Some friends they are, leaving a mudblood-lover in a house of Death Eaters," one woman jeered, glaring at Sirius. The other women burst into spiteful giggles._

_"Where are your nasty little friends?" the woman continued. "Where are they, boy?"_

_Sirius refused to answer. This was Mrs. Rowle, if he remembered right. He liked to remember their names. One day, he'd be an Auror, and he would have to stamp _her_ papers for her admittance to Azkaban. Then _he_ would be the one jeering and laughing, _not _her. He waited for the day..._

_"Answer me, boy!"_

_He stayed silent. Mrs. Rowle turned towards his mother. "Discipline your pathetic heir, Walburga. He won't answer me!" she hissed._

_Sirius wondered what was worse: being called a boy or an heir? He never wanted to be an heir..._

_Mrs. Rowle shrieked in anger._

_His mother swept over to the other side of the room and returned with his father. His father's steel eyes were a harsh contrast to Sirius' stormy eyes. Everybody thought Sirius looked like a carbon copy of his father. Sirius loathed their similarities. There was no doubt Orion was Sirius' father, and no doubt that Sirius' was Orion's son.  
_

_His father stood in front of him. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked harshly. Walburga Black stood behind her husband, a triumphant smirk on her face, her long fingers curled in a false show of delicateness around Orion's broad shoulder. There were gleeful eyes behind her, watching in untold amusement at his predicament. Sirius noticed that Regulus had turned his head to the side discreetly, closing his dark eyes to the sight discreetly. Sirius felt like smiling in a strange way. He'd succeeded with giving Regulus a conscience, no matter how small or useless it was. He'd done something worthwhile as a big brother...for once in his life, he'd done something _right_.  
_

_"What do you have to say for yourself?" His father bellowed._

_"To your question or Mrs. Rowle's?"_

_Orion's nostrils flared. His fists shook with anger. Sirius could see the Head of Black family ring turning a dark shade of red in response to Orion's rising magic. Sirius hated how much he resembled his father. Their magic reacted the same way. He had no doubt that his heir ring was equally crimson and his magic was lashing out just as much._

_"Don't give me smart mouth," he snarled._

_"Got it from you," Sirius sneered, "Dad."_

_Orion's glared intensified. Walburga let loose a gleeful cackle echoed by the crowd behind her and released her husband's shaking arm. His fist flew and Sirius tumbled to the floor. His cheek stung from the magic and blood dripped down his chin. His father extended an open palm. Sirius looked at the calloused palm in confusion._

_"Give me the Black heir ring. You are not fit for it."_

_Sirius had anger in spades. It was as good as disowning a pureblood without all the legal paperwork. He growled at his father, pulled the ring off his middle finger and threw it at Orion. "Keep your stupid ring. This pathetic excuse of a family isn't worth the trouble."_

_His father laughed. "And your idiotic, blustering Gryffindor family is worth it?"_

_Sirius stood up as gracefully as he could with blood in his mouth with his newest status as _second_ heir. "They're well worth it," he replied angrily, stalking up the stairs. _

_"I'll have fun killing them one by one on the battlefield," his father remarked. The aristocrats burst into life as Sirius swore that he'd kill Orion Black himself._

Sirius looked deep into his Icewhiskey bottle. The deep magenta alcohol shined beautifully in the barest sunlight of La Push. He had been tempted under Orion's roof to drink more than once after he'd been Sorted. He always had the courage and the guts to get drunk and possibly get killed (either from his inebriation or his parents murdering him), but James had always stopped him from going too far.

Not this time around.

He took a deep swig of the bottle. Ogden certainly knew how to get a wizard properly drunk, but the alcohol genius needed to learn how to subtly add in some Forgetfulness Potion to his brand of relaxers. Sirius didn't want to remember any part of the chain of events that led to him being here....

_James had come in through the window with windswept hair. His hazel eyes flickered past the dark bruise on Sirius' pale skin, but James handed over Sirius' Nimbus 1700 all the same. "You've packed, right?" James whispered._

_Sirius nodded, walking over to the opened window. "Shrunk and in my pocket," he replied, straddling his broom and jumping out the window. James raced after him._

_They reached Potter Manor in a few hours on brooms. James landed in the front yard and raced into the foyer, followed by Sirius. Mrs. Potter was standing in her bathrobe, a kindly smile on her face, as if Sirius had come at a respectable time instead of three in the morning._

_"James, dear, why don't you go to bed? It's rather late and you need your rest," she mothered, nudging James up the stairs. James nodded absentmindedly, yawning widely and stumbling upwards. Sirius made to go to his room, but Mrs. Potter placed her smooth hand on his shoulder. "Sirius, follow me please." She gently led him towards a room to the side._

_"Sit in the stool," she commanded, turning to the light blue cabinet behind her. She shuffled around for a bit as Sirius willed himself not to fidget. He'd never seen James fidget, and it was a pureblood thing. No fidgeting, no squirming. Mrs. Potter wouldn't approve, and his family would assassinate him if they found out he squirmed in public._

_Mrs. Potter pulled out a healing balm and placed it on the table. She wet a rag and wiped it fleetingly over Sirius' cheek, leaving a slight red stain on the clean rag before scrubbing it in the sink. "Put the balm on twice a day. Once in the morning, once at night, and the bruise should go away within the month, and it shouldn't scar. If it does, tell me."_

_Sirius nodded. Mrs. Potter settled herself into the chair across the table from Sirius. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"_

_He shrugged._

_"A little squabble," he replied._

_"A squabble earns you a cut and a bruise that looks strangely like a hand print?" Mrs. Potter asked sceptically, handing him a small cup of water. "Rinse and spit."_

_The mouthwash swirled in his mouth, leaving a too-clean feeling. The water was tinted pink, and he roughly wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Mrs. Potter handed him a small hand towel._

_"Do you want to talk about it? I won't tell anybody. Not even my husband or James. Pure patient-doctor confidentiality."_

_Secrets stayed in the family. They always stayed in the family. It was the first rule. Magic secrets stay in the family. Blackmail stayed in the family. Family secrets stayed in the family. Mrs. Potter, no matter how much he _wished_ it and willed it to be, was not in the family._

_And would you call Orion Black family? his mind piped up. Father's hateful face came to mind, his bright red Head of Family ring soaked in his blood. Walburga Black? Mother's sadistic smile whirled in his head._

_Were they really a family?_

_Mrs. Potter folded her arms quietly into her lap, her kind chocolate eyes watching him patiently. She was the nicest woman Sirius had ever met. Mr. Potter was as much as a joker as his son, but lacked the determination to play pranks (but he would fund them for "funny episodes when they bite James in the butt") and was ever encouraging James on his more..frivolous acts, like chasing Lily Evans (he simply thought it too hilarious to pass up). Sirius always imagined the Potters whenever he thought of a perfect, cookie-cutter family. The Blacks had never been as...tight-knit as the Potters. They would never be a true-blue family, as fractured and traditional as they were.  
_

_The Blacks were never really a family...so why did he have to keep family secrets?_

_"It's fine," he assured. "You've got enough troubles as it is." He dimly heard Mr. Potter coughing upstairs. The aged Auror had been fighting sickness for a while now. There were so many cases of magical people catching the same sickness, and it was in the older generations; people were beginning to call it an epidemic. He could see the stress lines on Mrs. Potter's face, around her mouth and her eyes. Her pretty hazel hair was becoming a thinning gray from worry. She was worrying about Mr. Potter's health badly enough; she didn't need to worry about his problems as well on top of her own son's issues (and boy, did James have issues)._

_Mrs. Potter smiled at him with wet eyes, and pulled him tight against her chest. "You're such a sweet boy, Sirius," she murmured in his ear, hugging him as tightly as she hugged James. "I'm so proud that you are my son's best friend."_

Would she be grateful now? He wondered, peering into the depths of his bottle.

He'd gotten her precious son killed after all...

Mrs. Potter had died from Dragon Pox, within a week after Mr. Potter had died. They were two out of the six people he would kill for, and they _died_ from a disease, a stupid little mutating virus that he hadn't been able to prevent. He had started pouring money into a vaccine with his inheritance from Uncle Alphard when the Ministry of Magic had diagnosed the disease as Dragon Pox, and James had done the same with his own vaults. That was back when only Mr. Potter was sick and Mrs. Potter had been taking care of him and acting as full-time nurse. Then Mrs. Potter had gotten sick a few months later after Mr. Potter had been isolated in St. Mungo's.

Sirius thought it was just too pathetic how the Ministry of Magic was.

They discovered a vaccine after the two people on the list of "People Sirius Black Actually Loves" had died. They didn't even have the sense to do it a few weeks afterwards...he remembered the facts clearly. Mr. Potter's body was preserved on March 8th, 1978. Mrs. Potter was buried along with her husband on March 12th, 1978. They had a double funeral with double the tears, triple the people, and a million times more regrets.

A vaccine was discovered by Gunhilda of Gorsemoor on March 15th, 1978.

People always thought their lost loved ones watched them from heaven...Sirius looked up into the stormy clouds.

"Are you proud of me, Mrs. Potter?" he asked aloud, watching the sky.

It started to drizzle.

"Didn't think so," he murmured, tipping the bottle back. Maybe he would be lucky enough to get sick and die of Dragon Pox too. He'd only be getting his just desserts for hurting everybody.

_He was finally out of Transfiguration, his last Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test of his lifetime. Sirius sighed happily, stretching his arms above his head and throwing his Anti-Cheating Quill he nicked from McGonagall out the window. Ah, to be free of exams was such a pleasant feeli--arms shot out of the nearby alcove and dragged Sirius in. Sirius did what any other sane person would do; he started kicking and screaming and yelling death threats.  
_

_"Let me go! I'll tell McGonagall you're molesting her future husband, and she'll turn you into a toadwart!" He screamed._

_"Sirius, it's me!" the man hissed._

_"Jamesie?" Sirius peered closer. The barest of sunlight glinted off James' glasses. "Prongs, I know you love me and all, but don't you have a girlfriend? Sorry, but I don't even swing that way, though if you like blo-"_

_"Padfoot, I don't like blokes," James hissed. "How many times do I have to say that?"_

_"You have to admit, it was a little suspicious when you were caught with Pucey in that broom closet in the 54th northwest corrid-"_

_"We were discussing Quidditch tactics!"_

_"In a _broom closet_?"_

_"Agh!" James shoved Sirius out of the alcove. "I don't even know why I bothered asking you."_

_"If you're going to pop the question to me, Lily's going to be ma-ad."_

_"You know what, I give up," the hazel-eyed boy grumbled, stalking out of the alcove and making his way down the hall. Sirius chased him down and grabbed the neck of his robe and pulled him back into the alcove. _

_"Alright, alright, I won't tease you. What's up?"_

_"But I don't want to tell you now," James whined._

_"One does not lose desire to tell secrets so quickly," Sirius spoke wisely before snapping. "Spill. Is there a problem with your girlfriend? I swear, if she was cheating on you--"_

_"She wasn't cheating on me."_

_"You were cheating on her?"_

_"There was no _cheating_ at all!"_

_Sirius frowned in confusion. "Then what's the problem?"_

_"Uh, well..I wanted to..uh, make a surprise for..er, Lily..um.."_

_"You've got the wrong bloke." Sirius sighed. "I thought we had this covered. Remus is your guy for all the mushy, romantic stuff. I'm your guy if you want the sex talk."_

_"PADFOOT! I can't belie-"_

_"Just get to the point already, Prongs. I've got people to see, Snivellus to bother, and girls to do!"_

_"Fine! I was _hoping_ to propose to her, and I wanted _you_ to tell me if you think she'd like the ring or not, okay?" James huffed and crossed his arms. "You're still a Black, and if there's anything that _you_ specialize in, Sirius, it's _vanity_."_

_"You've got an engagement ring?"_

_James nodded and pulled out the box from his robes. He opened the box and held it carefully. Sirius sighed and slapped James' forehead. _

_"Well, give it here! It's _dark,_ smart ass, I can't see it!"_

_"Of course, fashionista.."_

_"I'm not a fashionista!" Sirius defended. "I'm a fashio-"_

_"A fashionito," James finished, sighing. "I know, I know." He handed over the ring. Sirius stepped out of the alcove and into the bright summer light._

_He whistled. "Oooh, damn James! Lily would be stupid not to love this ring! White gold...dang," he pulled the ring carefully out of its' cushion and held it to the light. "How many karats is this?"_

_"Didn't know you knew so much about muggle jewelry," James groused. Sirius waved him off. "It's only muggle 'till you spell it, Jamesy. And anyways! Purebloods, muggles; it's still shiny, and it's still worth a lot of money, Prongs. So let me ask again--how many karats?"_

_"Twenty-two," James replied promptly. Sirius sucked in a deep breath in excitement, peering closely at the expertly, princess-cut diamond set in the center of the ring. "Very nice, very nice..it's amazingly colorless, and the emeralds shine just as brightly as the bloody diamond." He ran his finger over the small row of emeralds beside the diamond on both sides._

_"Are the emeralds okay? I'm sure Lily's tired of it by now, but I really thought they'd match her eyes," James said._

_"I'm sure she'll think it's sweet, in that annoying sentimental way soon-to-be brides are. It's an amazing engagement ring whether or not she likes the emeralds; flashy, yet modest enough that Lily won't make that much of a fuss," Sirius complemented. "Why don't I ever get presents like this?"_

_"I'm not marrying you, now am I?" James groused, snatching the ring and the velvet box back. _

_"You know you want to," Sirius cooed. _

_"No thanks, mate. I don't swing that way; no matter how much _you_ want to," James retorted._

_"Where'd you get that ring anyways?" Sirius asked out of curiosity. _

_"What, planning to marry some poor, pitiful girlie soon?"_

_"Just curious. The workmanship almost looks like Alceste's, but that's in Horntail Avenue, and that's a purely dark wizard only area, and I haven't met anybody yet who can make jewelry better than Alceste."_

_James hummed. "Maybe because it is Alceste's work?"_

_"Am I talking to a ghost?" Sirius wondered, smacking his arm through James' forehead. James winced and pushed Sirius away. "That hurt, you idiot!"_

_"Well, you should be _dead_ if you even walked down that road! You can't blame me!"_

_"You don't have to check whether or not I'm a ghost!"_

_Sirius snorted. "I'll believe your word the day Peter faces a dragon."_

_"That'll never happen."_

_"Exactly." Sirius pulled James by the shoulder and out the hall. "James, believe me. Lily's one lucky girl to be your bride."_

_"You think?"_

_"Haven't you heard? Sirius Black is always right."_

_"When pigs fly," James commented._

_"That's the sign of true love, dear. When you start acting like dear Lilykins, even when she's not around." Sirius nodded, fake tears streaming down his face. "My little Prongsie's all grown up!" He buried his face into James' shoulder (it was sort of awkward because he had to crouch down a bit) and hugged his best mate around the waist._

_"Get off me, you big lug!"_

_Sirius wailed, causing many students to look on them in confusion before turning away. Marauder madness, they thought, pushing the sight from their minds. So strange, yet oh so normal._

_They eventually ended up in the common room. James immediately left after pulling Sirius away, planning to find Remus and ask Lily to marry him before the day was done. Sirius fell across his bunk bed and thought of Hogwarts. Today was the last day. He'd be sad to say goodbye to Hogwarts..they'd leave tomorrow afternoon after graduation...._

_Sirius fell asleep quickly. He was woken up when the stars were in the sky by James, grinning like a loon and jumping on his bed. "Wha-aaa...geffoff mi bed," Sirius moaned, throwing his pillow at James and burrowing under the covers. James took the pillow head-shot and popped right back up from his sprawled position on the messy floor of their dorm room. "Sirius, wake up, wake up! Padfoot, please, it's IMPORTANT!"_

_"Nuh."_

_"Paddy, please. WAKE UP!" James pulled the covers back. Sirius kicked the other teenager in the balls and rolled over._

_James curled up on the ground in a fatal position, watery eyes glaring back up at the bed. "You're s-so lucky I need you to be my b-best man 'cause otherwise, I'd hex you straight to hell," he whimpered through pained teeth._

_"Haah?" Sirius inquired sleepily, raising his sleep-mussed hair half an inch from his mattress. He hadn't heard a thing.  
_

_"Lily said YES!"_

_"Yeers tu whaa?"_

_James inhaled loudly. "LILY AND ME ARE ENGAGED!"_

_"WHAT?" Sirius yelled, snapping up. "When'd you ask? Couldn't you have told me that you were going to propose?! Oh, such a big blackmail opportunity and I MISSED it..."_

_"You're not supposed to be trying to blackmail me," James pointed out blandly. "And I told you I planned to propose!"_

_"You didn't say TONIGHT!"_

_"You didn't ask!"_

_They frowned at each other. "You're still gonna be my best man though, right?"_

_"A'course," Sirius replied, yawning. "Unless you wanted somebody else. You didn't, did'cha?"_

_"Siri, you're my best friend since forever. I don't think I can get somebody else anyways."_

_"Oh good. If you did, I'd have to kill them..." Sirius trailed off. "James?"_

_"What?"_

_"Why are we up here?"_

_"Because you were sleeping..?" James replied._

_"We should be downstairs. With firewhiskey. And girls."_

_"Lily would kill me though!" James cried, hiding behind the bed post, as if Lily would appear in the door room to smack him. Sirius sighed. James was so whipped....  
_

_"You're such a wimp," Sirius grumbled, throwing on a robe. "And she wouldn't kill you if we invited guys. She's been lookin' at that Corner dude for awhile, maybe if we invited him.."_

_"NO! NO no no, Sirius!" James yelled. "How 'bout this. We'll have just the 7th years-"_

_"No Slytherins." Sirius interjected.  
_

_"Well, duh, we never have Slytherins! We'll have the 7th years gather up in that room, y'know, behind that portrait of that Marquess of Manure and have a celebration."_

_"Whatever you say. Lemme get dressed."_

_"Vain git."_

_"At least I'm a sexy vain git."  
_

Sirius threw the empty bottle at the tree. It shattered into pieces, spraying the last few droplets of the blood-colored alcohol around the tree. He'd been so ecstatic that James hadn't even thought of somebody else other than Sirius for his best man. He hadn't even approved it through Lily before asking him, but Lily agreed that Sirius would be the best man, if only to stop him from ruining her perfect day.

He really wished James had chosen somebody else. Somebody more sensible, like Frank Longbottom, who planned to marry Alice Bosque a month after James and Lily's wedding, or Remus Lupin, who was more than sensible despite being a werewolf. Maybe they wouldn't have had the sense to switch Secret Keepers and taken the pain like any other decent best man. They would've been so much more _sure_ of themselves, unlike him...why did he have to doubt that night? Why did he doubt his will to keep his secret? He'd never told James' secrets, ever. He never told Black secrets until it became necessary in the war, and it was on a need-to-know basis even then.

He really hated himself.

Even more than his self-doubt, he hated the fact that he couldn't remember things he _wanted_ to remember.

He wanted to remember James' laughing. He wanted to remember how James' eyes would sparkle whenever he had a devious prank. He wanted to remember how James would swoon and fall over in his own little pool of drool when Lily Evans walked by. He wanted to remember the Marauders and their runs in the moonlight, he wanted to remember pushing James into the lake. He wanted to remember the Potters, all of them. He wanted to remember Mr. Potter, accusing him of cheating in a Quidditch game and Mrs. Potter hugging him and handing out lemonade.

Sirius couldn't remember any of it.

All he could remember was Godric's Hollow, charred and broken. The overturned tables, Lily's precious china smashed into pieces, the photos scattered like blades of grass in the wind. He could remember scrummaging in the old ruins, praying not to find a body, praying that his best friend, his wife, and his son weren't dead, that he wouldn't see one body after another when they sorted through the rubble.

All he could see were James' dead hazel and Lily's dull green. He had eventually pulled Harry out of the recently deceased Lily's arms with tears streaming down his face. Harry hadn't wanted to let go of his mummy, and had no such problem showing it in his wails. Sirius felt an awful lot like Harry, wanting to grab onto James, his lifeline and beg that he wasn't dead. He wanted to deny it, but there was no denying it now..

The Potters were dead, and the only one left alive was one Harry James Potter.

* * *

_The engagement ring:_ http:// /ViewDetails. asp?ProID=2082 &SrchKeyword=&SrchCategory=5&Srch SubCat=16&srch Price=

_I'm unsure if the link will or will not work. All else, go to , click Engagement Rings on the left toolbar, and it should be on the first page (assuming the default at the top is "Best Seller") at the most bottom right._

_Reasons why I wasn't able to update? My original chapter was infected by a virus. I'm not even sure how that happens, but one day it's normal text, the next day after school, it's a bungle of random symbols (I asked my dad who works with computers, and he said that there was no way to restore it). After that, I sulked about it for awhile, and slowly tried to recreate the chapter. This chapter has minor differences with the other one (for example, Sirius' train of thought actually starts in the same place but ends up in a completely different subject) and it's also a lot longer (like, a thousand words longer, not including the author's note.). _

_Again, if anybody catches any mistakes that I don't catch, please tell me, and feel free to critize.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you (really, I'm amazed because I thought I'd never get any) for the reviews. Don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say much more. Happy reading._

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight or Harry Potter; they are copyrighted by their authors and are not owned by me; I'm not making money off this._

* * *

A week had passed, and Billy was getting worried for his younger cousin. Maybe mourning was supposed to take longer than seven days, but he was sure that depression wasn't healthy in any way or form, no matter how many circumstantial cases and strange factors this particular depression held. Sirius didn't sleep, Sirius didn't eat. Sirius didn't pay attention to anything but Harry. The only time he noticed anybody else was when they tried to get near Harry, or when they pushed food in his face. Sirius had lost a scary amount of weight, but Harry was fine in his godfather's clingy fingers. Rachel was getting suspicious and snoopy, while Rebecca was firm in the opinion that he was some deranged psycho from a mental hospital.

Sarah tried to take it in stride as her food was rejected time after time and attempted to give Sirius some room, going as far as to clean out the attic and redecorate the room in Gryffindor colors even if she hated the color red, all for Sirius, but even that didn't seem to help. She'd confessed to Billy that it scared her that Sirius, the cheerful, laughing man she'd met at her wedding, had wasted away into a depressed drunk. The Quileute man had tried just about everything apart from taking Sirius to the hospital or sending Sirius to the hospital with his fists, but in the end, Billy felt like he had done nothing at all.

The most he could ever do was pull back Sirius' hair when he puked into the toilet and give him old herbal remedies that wouldn't harm his magic. Billy tried to understand what Sirius had been going through, ordering old Daily Prophets to read up, calling up old friends like Andromeda Tonks to figure out exactly what went on in the decade he had missed. He hadn't seen Sirius after he had graduated from Hogwarts, and according to Andromeda, everything started going down the gutter when the class of 1978, which included James and Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, graduated. He learned that there were more than a 'couple of raids' like Sirius passed it off as when they were teens, and that there were more war-torn horrors and sickening stories than he'd ever heard. He had even called a local psychiatric agency in Port Angeles to figure out how to best accommodate and comfort Sirius, lying that Sirius was an old Vietnam veteran who'd never gotten past his best friends' deaths.

Billy forced himself to take it in stride, not saying a word about Sirius' growing habits of drowning himself in alcohol. But even so, Billy had the strange pang in his heart when he saw his younger cousin sitting outside next to the garage, dozens of empty bottles scattered over the place, passed out on the ground, and obvious tear tracks over his gaunt face. All he could do was try to tell Sirius that it wasn't his fault (which wouldn't go through to his cousin's stubborn head) and clean him up after he was a drunken wreck.

Billy hated himself even more than he had before that he wasn't a wizard like everybody else in the family was. He couldn't help Sirius like other magical people could; no, all he could do was gather information and pile up the broken pieces. He couldn't even give Sirius muggle medicine for temporary relief unless he wanted a magic-infected Sirius.

He couldn't make potions that would keep Sirius sober or keep his physical self in decent condition. He couldn't wave his wand to tie him down to a chair and give him a stern talking to; he couldn't give him personal therapy. He didn't know James and Lily Potter like Sirius did. The most he knew was that James was like Sirius' twin brother and Lily was a nice, pretty red-haired lady that James fell in love with. He couldn't comfort the man; he couldn't slap the man. All he could do was worry and pray to the lords that his cousin wouldn't snap like the rest of the family who'd all eventually lost their marbles.

Billy knew that the Noble and Purest House of Black meant nothing to Sirius. He didn't care about the Blacks, the Quileutes, or Billy's family. They might be cousins, but blood family itself didn't matter much to him. By no means did Sirius hate them, but his loyalty was to his friends and chosen family, like the Potters, not his real ones. That was why he'd broken so easily after their deaths, because he had honestly loved them to the ends of the world. Billy had no doubt that if James Potter asked him for a suicide mission, Sirius would gather his bags and do the job. Because of that, Billy knew one thing.

Harry, the little bitty godson with big green eyes and his son's best toddling friend, was the only thing keeping Sirius afloat and _alive_.

So, understandably, Billy panicked when Harry started wailing. Sirius was sleeping for the first time in days. Jacob wasn't going to be getting any pudding anytime soon; he wasn't sure what Jacob did, but Jacob did _something _and was hiding under the coffee table. Harry sat in the middle of the living room, bawling his bright green eyes out, big fat tears streaming down his red face. Billy pulled Harry into his arms, and started to bounce him up and down, rocking him back and forth, praying that Sirius wouldn't wake up to the commotion. Billy was relieved that Harry turned to sniffles, gripping Billy's shirt in his grubby fingers and wiping his snot on his newest shirt.

Just as Harry was calming down and Billy was reassuring himself that Sirius hadn't woken up, the man rushed into the room a moment later, his red eyes open wide in fear. His wand was held in one shaking hand pointing right between Billy's eyes, Billy's stolen Bowie knife in his other hand, his bony wrist held in perfect position to implant the blade through Billy's head.

Jacob shrieked in fear, crawling under the couch. Harry started wailing again from Jacob's shriek, and pandemonium started again. Billy stood in shock. _Sirius wasn't in his right mind_, Billy tried to remind himself. He willed himself not to run away and hide behind the couch. Sirius had fast reflexes. Everybody who worked as an Auror full-time did. Andromeda had told horror stories, saying that victims who survived a raid had nightmares of Aurors killing Death Eaters as much as they had nightmares of Death Eaters killing civilians. He'd be wounded before he got there, and Harry might get hurt in the struggle. _Don't move,_ he hissed at himself. _Don't move. Wait until Sirius calms down. Wait until he thinks rationally. Wait.._

Sirius shifted until the bowie knife was against Billy's throat. "Put Harry down," he snarled. Billy didn't move. "Death Eater," Sirius hissed menacingly, a merciless glint in his eyes, "Put my godson down or I'll _kill _you." They stood, immobile, for what felt like a year before Sirius drew the blade back from Billy's trembling neck and shakily dropped his wand arm. He looked in uncomprehending confusion at Billy as if he had just woken up, before a look of self-disgust came over his face. Billy took a step towards him. Sirius dropped the dagger and fled the room amid the children's cries. Billy heard the sound of the front door slamming and his bright red truck screeching off the driveway.

* * *

It was ten after eleven. Sarah tucked all four children into bed an hour before, and now, they were both wringing their hands over Sirius.

"What are we going to do?" Sarah asked, biting her lip. She sat on the arm of Billy's chair. "He's getting worse and worse every day, Billy."

Billy sighed, pushing his hair back from his face. "I'm not sure anymore. I thought he'd bounce back; he always did..But I guess back then he had James, didn't he?"

Sarah hugged her husband around the waist, burying her face in his shoulder. "He's a good man. It hurts to see him so...so..."

"Gone?" Sarah nodded, digging her fingers even deeper into his shirt, tears leaking out of her eyes. "It's too sad..."

"It's what war does to people," Billy murmured softly, running his fingers through Sarah's long hair. "He lost two of his best friends in one night, and now he's running away from his old comrades with his godson. He's used to being the guy chasing the bad guys, a bachelor, and the spoiling godparent. He had every intention of seeing the end of the war with all his friends intact. It's come crashing around his ears so quickly that his brain just can't keep up."

Sarah peered at Billy's tired face with her bright blue eyes. "Now, when did you get so smart?" She reached up and flicked his nose with a giggle. "Taking genius pills now?"

Billy laughed halfheartedly, grasping her delicate fingers in his large hand. "Naw. I just know my family." Sarah smiled brilliantly. "Mhm," she agreed, pressing her lips to his hand clasped around hers. She laid her head onto his shoulders and concentrated on the ticking clock and the rhythmic movements of Billy's hands in her hair.

"Go to sleep, Sarah," Billy whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I'll stay up and wait for Sirius. You've got a class of midgets tomorrow."

"You're a comfy pillow," she replied, yawning and snuggling into his broad shoulder. "I'ma sleep here."

Billy sighed in resignation, pulling his stubborn, sleepy wife closer so she wasn't too uncomfortable, and settled in to wait for Sirius' return, and his wife to go to sleep.

* * *

Fifteen before twelve, Billy decided Sarah was in a deep sleep. He slowly moved her head from his shoulder, and carefully maneuvered her into his arms. She snuggled in tightly, and he quietly made his way to their bedroom, decorated in blues. He tucked her into the blankets, handing her a pillow to hug. She was a horrible snuggle-bug sort of person in her sleep, attaching herself to just about anything nearby. He thought it was adorable, up until the twins arrived in her stomach and thought it funny to kick him in the middle of the night. He pulled out her mother's day gift from last year, a stuffed frog, and tucked it nicely under her arm.

"Good night and sweet dreams, honey," he whispered, kissing her forehead and tucking her hair behind her ears. She made some unintelligible mumbling, making Billy smile, before he sneaked out of the room and shut the door quietly behind him. Billy strode over to the armchair and sunk himself into the plush for another long wait.

In the end, it hadn't been as long as a wait as Billy expected. He thought he'd have to stay up until four o'clock or something, because usually, whenever he had gotten drunk (usually with Harry Clearwater, because Harry was the "designated driver" while he was usually too tipsy to stand upright, much less drive), that was the earliest he ever returned, and whenever he did, he normally was drunk beyond belief. Granted, he hadn't been out for a drink in a long while now--life was perfect, so why did he need to drink? Life was a little chaotic (as if it could be anything else), but pleasant and happy. The only time he could recall some heavy drinking was when Sarah had rejected him when he'd finally gotten the courage to ask her out after a year and and a half of admiring from afar. Sirius was the sort of guy who seemed to be able to hold his liquor well; it would be a long while until he was properly pissed. As such, Billy made himself comfortable for the wait, turning on a lamp and pulling an old story book (it seemed like all they had these days were storybooks) of Quileute legends out.

Sirius appeared at the door at fifteen past twelve. He was dripping wet and entirely sober to Billy's shock. He walked in a straight line to the couch on the opposing side of Billy and collapsed, shivering and shuddering. Billy ran to the bathroom, collected any unused towels in the closet, and draped them all over Sirius before rushing to the kitchen. As Sirius started to bury under the towels, Billy came back with a cup of instant hot chocolate, and pushed the mug into Sirius' thin, shaking hands.

"What did you _do_?" Billy demanded, turning the heater up. His family might be a bit uncomfortable, but it would save Sirius from hypothermia.

"Jumped off a cliff," Sirius replied offhandedly, putting the mug on the table and rubbing a dry towel over his hair. "Isn't that what people tell you to do when you do something stupid? 'Why don't you just go and jump off a cliff?!' I knew you'd never say that, but that's what everybody says...so I did it."

Billy gawked at the babbling man, who'd gone from jumping cliffs to strange sayings. "I don't get why the say 'the pot calling the kettle black'. Isn't that insulting us Blacks by saying we're pots and kettles? And why do we say 'kick the bu--" "You went cliff-diving?" Billy cut in.

Sirius nodded cheerfully, like a hyper child. "Why?" Billy asked slowly.

The childish man shrugged. "I dunno. Felt like it." He dried his hair and patted down his shirt before taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "Mm, this stuff is good. Got anymore? Oooh, what about coffee?"

"No coffee, Sirius," Billy stated firmly, rubbing his temple with his fingers. The man didn't need caffeine. "Are you alright?"

"I'm...what do you Americans say? Awesome?"

Billy was appropriately suspicious. A depressed man came back after a round, or maybe many rounds from the looks of it, of cliff-diving, happier and just as hyper as his year old boy. That wasn't normal, as far as he was concerned. "Really, Sirius?"

"Yup!" The man smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Billy narrowed his brown eyes, staring directly into Sirius' grey eyes. His dull eyes didn't light up with the annoying spark that Billy had always wanted to punch (but refrained from doing so) because his cousin was always hyper and happy at the most inopportune moments. Sirius was lying. Billy glared. "Stop faking. It's not going to work."

"What makes you think I'm faking, Bill?" Sirius was still grinning. "I'm just happy, is all."

"Your hands are shaking, the smile doesn't reach your eyes. Your breath is wavering, and have you looked in a mirror lately?" Billy chuckled. "The Sirius Black I know wouldn't be pleased until there were at least eight different girls stalking him home and his hair rivaled a god."

Sirius seemed to weigh whether or not he should continue the charade. Just as Billy thought that he'd have to throw out more observations, Sirius sighed and curled up on himself. "If you'd like to know, I really _did _go cliff-diving though," he admitted. "That's why I'm soaking wet."

Billy nodded. "That's understandable....Sirius, still, are you alright? And answer honestly, please."

Sirius remained silent. Billy had never liked to pressure people; that had always been Sarah's job. If the girls' grades were a bit low, Sarah told them they needed to have a good education, and Billy did the encouragement and gave them his pride and love all the same. Sarah had always done the pushing and the punishment (like no bacon for a week). Billy had always been about freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of love, freedom of anything that held you down. That was how Sirius and Billy had bonded so quickly and kept their long-distance friendship. They valued freedom over just about anything and everything. They'd had the same experiences of being the "strong pillar" for everybody else--never changing, never fluctuating. Always there, always annoying in Sirius' case, always dependable.

It was against their life rules to reveal secrets that would change them into an unreliable pillar and cause them to carry a heavier cross than the ones they already strutted about, acting like it was no big deal. Neither of them had really ever confessed to anybody about any sort of _emotions_, at least, not until Billy had gotten married. It wasn't out of fear or shame for either of them. It was for everybody's protection and their own good. Change made people fall, change made people suffer. Change caused people to lose hope, but change could do the exact opposite; change could raise people beyond the ordinary, change could shine like the light at the end of a tunnel, change could reanimate somebody's world. Billy and Sirius both believed that the risk for change wasn't worth it unless it was to return it to normality. Of course, that was what they had thought when the war had _just been getting started..._

Sirius and Billy were very alike. Bill knew Sirius would never, ever tell him what was really wrong unless he was on his deathbed because--that was how Billy was like too.

"I'm fine." And just like Billy thought he would, Sirius lied.

"If you say so," Billy replied easily. "Why don't you go take a shower and go to bed? You haven't been sleeping well lately." He hoped the gentle advice would actually make it through Sirius' stubborn head.

"Mm," Sirius agreed, tugging the towels from his head and abandoning them on the floor.

"Hey Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

Billy continued insecurely. Sirius had always been a bit of a loose cannon. He might take his advice as somebody worrying about him, or he might take him as a overbearing mothering hen and blow up. "Stop..stop _wasting away_." Seeing that he had Sirius' full attention, he continued blabbering on, afraid that Sirius would leave before he got to finish. "Sarah was excited that you were coming. She'd always been complaining that her little girls were sometimes too girly to roll around in the mud and run around in the forest. She'd been hoping that you'd come by and mess with them, you know, make them...less girly." Sirius nodded along, his stormy grey eyes staring unblinkingly at Billy's dark brown eyes. "So, uh, eat some more, okay? If you even tried to rough house with them right now, sorry, but.." Billy did a once over on Sirius' clothes that hung off his bones and his toothpick arms to make his point more clear. "..you'd lose to a pair of eleven year olds."

Sirius laughed, his familiar bark-like laugh. "Alright. Gotcha. Don't need to hassle the wife, gain some weight, don't get beat up by little midgets." Sirius replied. His eyes shown with honesty and gratefulness that Billy cared enough to give him advice and try to help.

"Good night then, Sirius."

"G'night. And thanks, Bill." Sirius grinned, before dashing up the stairs.

Billy was reassured for the moment, but he resolved to himself that the next time he went out to buy groceries, he'd stop by the bookstore and buy a blank book, and maybe a locking chest from the old thrift store. If Sirius wasn't going to tell anybody what was really bothering his mind, he might as well write it down somewhere so he didn't explode.

Explosions of the Sirius nature were never nice.

* * *

_If there are any mistakes, mispellings, or confusions, please mention them to me. Feel free to criticize._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you guys for the reviews again, and...yeah. This focuses more on the female Blacks, and the reason why it took so long was because I kept wanting to add more scenes to Sarah's monologue, but none of them really worked...anyways. Happy Reading. _

_I just now realized I entirely forgot any sort of disclaimer (will go back and add them to the other chapters). **Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight or Harry Potter; they are copyrighted by their authors and...they..aren't mine. And I'm not making money off this either.  
_

* * *

Sarah Black, previously Sarah Qunell, always believed that Billy Black, the one and only love of her life, would always do amazing things.

He was like her knight in shining armor that would appear right when things looked bleak. He would brighten the world with his strange little jokes and dramatic flair. He was her only boyfriend, and he was her first date, her first kiss, and her first case of puppy love that never quite went away. He was the best boyfriend in the entire universe--all her friends had been horribly jealous of the way he looked at her as if she was the sun, the moon, the sky, and the very air he breathed combined into one mortal being. She loved him more than the world, but always felt her affection for him paled in comparison to the need Billy emphasized for her.

He was a smart man, holding his finances and carefully playing the stocks. He was a kind man who adopted a dog named Bessie up until it died a few years ago. He was a handsome man with his dark hair, russet skin, and sparkling eyes. He was a good marksman, a dedicated worker, a devoted student, and a man who lived to live.

He had the most adorable expression that reminded her of the little begging puppy Casey, her roommate, had whenever he messed up, like when he accidentally scorched her counter top in his attempt to make a romantic dinner for their tenth anniversary. He had the cutest laugh when he was pointing out all the wrong, entirely unmanly things in her chick movies. He didn't mind her abnormal need of snuggling and accepted her desire to do something with her life instead of staying home like other housewives did. He gave her room when she needed it, and he hugged her close when she felt lonely. She didn't have to say a word, ever. He mentally got the messages her brain sent, sometimes before she even understood them.

Sarah really didn't understand why Billy kept her around.

She had never been unique. She wasn't amazingly beautiful, she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, she had no outstanding skill whatsoever to speak of. Her fingers were too small, her arms were abnormally skinny, her legs a bit too short, and she personally thought her bust was the smallest bust the Lord had ever created. Her neck was as little too long, her forehead a little to big, her eyebrows didn't match up quite right, and her hair was always a tangle of dark curls that she had never liked to deal with. Sarah never understood why.

Why had Billy chosen to focus his endless affections on her, out of every beautiful, kind, brilliant girl in the universe? He could do so much better than her.

In fact, he deserved better than her.

He deserved better. Somebody special, somebody beautiful, somebody brilliant, somebody talented. Somebody perfect to match with Billy's perfection. He was too good, a too 'out-of-her-league' guy, and Sarah never saw what the perfect Quileute man saw in a poor, shy Michigan girl like her.

All the same, she was grateful for every second she spent with the perfect man and whatever luck He had given her for getting such a man as her husband. She gazed at her sleeping husband of twelve years, her friend for fifteen years. The man never failed to amaze her with his never-ending acceptance and his unobjectionable freedom. She traced his forehead, smoothing invisible lines of stress and running her long fingers over his sculpted eyebrows, trailing down to the slightly crooked bridge of his nose. She remembered the man Billy had punched in her defense and the horror of his bloodied nose. The slightest imperfection made her smile. The imperfection made him even more perfect, her mind murmured as her fingers swept over his eyelids that concealed her personal favorite part of Billy's face. His eyes, the deep chocolaty brown confection that always shown with love and affection he had collected for her over the years. She loved them. They always shown with the true character of Billy, his kindness and openness and the sheer blunt honesty that made Billy a great man. She continued to his smooth cheekbones and laugh lines around the corners of his mouth, to his strong jaw and finally to his full lips, a light, natural dark pink that stood out from his russet skin.

Smiling lightly, she kissed him chastely. Billy mumbled a bit in his sleep before dropping off into dreamland again. She pulled back the covers off her side and tucked Billy back in before making her way to the bathroom. The perfect man needed perfect, hot steaming food, after all.

* * *

Rachel shook her older sister awake. Rebecca always slept like a rock--Rachel ducked to avoid the flying fist aiming for her face--and never liked to be woken from her rock-like status. They were identical twins, and nobody else on the reservation could tell them apart. They took care to preserve their image; never once did they act out, never once did they wear different clothes. They wore the same make-up, used the same shampoo, gushed about the same things. Everything on the outside was the same and the pair was proud of it.

In the house, it was a big difference. Dad always said that they were able to do anything and everything they wanted in the house (except, they couldn't destroy the house and they couldn't bring any boys, no, not even little ones, home _ever_) and once he'd heard of their "exact twin" behavior at school, he had quickly put an end to it. "No faking in this house," he said. "If you think you need it at school, which I'm telling you, you _don't_, then be a pair. But at home, you are an _individual_. You can wear the same clothes and all that girly stuff, but you'll be your own person behind the scenes, do you hear me?" He shook his head. "That's my rule if you're living under this roof. No lying, no faking, no _masks_."

The instant they walked off the school bus, Rebecca was a hot-head and Rachel was a timid mouse. Their parents could always tell them apart. Mom was always very accommodating whenever they went clothes shopping. If both daughters went, they would buy two sets of everything. If one went, they would buy their own original clothes. Mom just seemed to like picking out clothes in general, Rachel mused, peering at her closet while her older sister (by a minute and a half) dragged herself out of bed. Rachel pulled out a pair of jeans, a dark green T-shirt, a brown fleece jacket and laid them out on the bed before pulling out a similar set for her sister. As the pair brushed their teeth and fixed any mussed hair, Rachel went back into the bedroom to change while Rebecca stayed in the bathroom and started to pull out accessories.

Fashion was normally a compromise between the two. Rebecca liked to keep up with fashion with her colorful bracelets and watches and acid-washed jeans. Rachel, on the other hand, didn't particularly care for it and was more than fine to go on with the day without dangling jewelry and expensive footwear. They developed a system. For one year, Rachel would choose the clothes they wore to school and Rebecca would choose the adornments. For the next year, Rebecca would choose the clothes and Rachel would choose the adornments. Both agreed not to go too far out that it was entirely obvious that they changed style, so Rebecca wasn't allowed to choose anything too outrageous from the conservative style Rachel had started them off as, and Rachel was forced to choose some shiny bangles or another.

In a way, they learned a lot from pretending. Compromise was an annoying thing to be done, but everything ended up better in the end. Keeping a secret was fun, and they'd never get tired of it. By teaming up, they could chase down problems better than they could do alone. People were intimidated by a duo and tried to separate them to get the uniqueness of who was who.

It helped a lot in new situations, such as their new house guest. And unlike the one time they'd brought in a soaked cat, it wasn't a pet. No, it was a person.

Mom wouldn't let them get a pet, but _Dad _could get a long-lost cousin.

And on every other normal, pleasant person in the world he could've gotten...

...he had to get a mentally unstable person.

Rebecca returned from the bathroom, wearing five metal bracelets on her left arm and a rainbow set of jelly bracelets on her right. Rachel had changed into the clothes she had picked out, and had decided to switch the green shirt with a light blue one. Both had gotten their mother's lighter coloring, which made them stand out among the Quileute population even more. Before long, both raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mom stood next to the stove, while Dad was already sitting at the table, munching away on his bacon. Little Jacob (soon enough, they were going to have to change that to 'Fat Jacob', Rachel thought absentmindedly) was giggling and gulping down his own breakfast. Harry ("The cutest baby on the planet," Rebecca had squealed the night of his arrival) was waving cheerfully at them with his fists filled with Cheerios. The babies were giggling and laughing among themselves.

The strangest thing was that the empty seat that had been added to their dinner table--wasn't empty. Sirius Black, the strange man neither of them knew, was sitting at the dinner table with his own plate of eggs. His hair had been washed and he seemed more awake than they'd ever seen him. He was even arguing the strangeness of American football with Billy. Rachel was confused, but tried not to say anything about it. Dad must have done something, she reassured. Dad fixed everything, even drunken cousins. They had seen Sirius behind the garage after school with his beer bottles, and hadn't said anything about it. If Dad agreed that Sirius should live with them, then Sirius would. Dad's judgment ruled the house. It was the unspoken rule; sometimes, Rachel thought Dad didn't even know it.

She gave Rebecca a meaningful look, before turning back to Mom. "Good morning dears," Mom greeted, handing them their plates before sitting in her own seat across from Rebecca. She smiled. "Any tests today?"

"Nope," Rebecca replied, shoveling eggs into her mouth. "except that spelling test, but you helped us study last night."

"Eat slower," Rachel told Rebecca. "You're going to choke at the rate you're going." She continued to eat at a normal pace, nibbling on her bacon and taking a sip of her milk.

"You say that every day! I haven't choked once yet." Rebecca retorted, taking a swig of her orange juice and shoveling in a chunk of bacon at the same time.

"Close your mouth at least. The contents are reminding me of a malfunctioning washing machine."

"Well, don't look over here then," she replied.

Rachel sighed. She gave up. Rebecca would never have manners. Maybe it was a fact of life or something.

The strange man sitting next to Dad cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry for not introducing myself earlier," he spoke with a British accent, Rachel noted. When had Dad been British? "I'm Sirius Black."

"D'you come from England?" Rebecca asked in an all-too Rebecca way. Rachel felt like slapping herself. How was she related to Rebecca?

"Uh, yeah." Sirius replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "London, England. I'm British."

"Are you where Rebecca's stupid genes come from?" she asked aloud. She'd observe him later, when Rebecca wasn't around. Until then, the role of idiotic children would have to be filled.

The man laughed loudly, collapsing in guffaws. Was it really that funny? Rachel didn't aspire to be a comedian..."Yeah, probably," he replied earnestly. "I'm as stupid as they come."

"He lies," her dad stated adamantly. "Maybe he's stupid, but he's got more than enough natural talent to make up for it."

"Billy, don't encourage him," Mom said in a no nonsense tone. "He's a horrendous prankster." She turned towards the twins. "Girls, stay away from him and if he gives you anything, refuse it."

Rachel nodded. "Will do, Ma." She mock-saluted before running out to the living room and grappling with both backpacks. No doubt Rebecca had accosted Sirius on his countless pranks and they were trading stories; she really didn't want to hear tales of her humiliation. By now, Rebecca would forget any sort of suspicion she had on Sirius. Rachel always thought Rebecca was a bit more naive and...annoyingly innocent. She dived head-first into anything that came her way, leaving Rachel to make up plans on the spot to bail them _both _out of trouble. Rebecca thought any fellow prankster couldn't be black-hearted, and anything Rachel said to contradict that ideal wouldn't end up pretty.

"Girls, time for school!"

"Okay!" both of them called back. Rachel came back with the backpacks while Rebecca put the dishes away. Both put on their white sneakers. "Have a fun day at school," her father called, kissing Mom on the cheek. "Have fun, don't blow up any toilets," Sirius said to Rebecca as they rushed out the door. They climbed into Mom's Honda Accord and drove off. Rebecca sat in the passenger seat and sung along to the radio stations. Rachel rested her head on the window and watched the passing scenery. The strange man had gotten out of his depression.

She could finally get some proper data and figure out _exactly_ why he was here.

* * *

School was going slower than Rachel could ever imagine. Mrs. Wilson's English class stretched on for hours. They'd already taken and graded the spelling quizzes; Rachel scored a 100, and Rebecca scored a 97 (she missed 'depreciation'). They were reading _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ by William Shakespeare, and the reading was going slower than she had ever remembered.

The boy reading Quince was hesitant as ever. "Ay, or else one must come in with a bush of thorns and a leenthorn ("A _lanthorn_," the teacher interrupted, "is a lantern."), and say he comes to disfigure, or to present, the person of Moonshine. Then, there is another thing: we must have a wall in the great chamber; for Pi-ram-i-us," the boy pronounced carefully, "and This-bee says the story, did talk through the chink of a wall."

As the next person was about to read, the Ms. Wilson interrupted again. "Now, what does that mean?"

Nobody raised their hands.

Rachel dropped her head onto the table. _Stupid idiots!_ she snarled.

The thunk echoed through the classroom. Rebecca looked worriedly on, but didn't lift her head in fear of getting bitten. "Ms. Black? Are you feeling okay?" Ms. Wilson asked.

"Fine, just fine," she mumbled.

"Oh, good! Seeing as you volunteered, why don't you tell me what the passage means?"

Rachel wondered how many times she'd have to hit her head on a desk until she blacked out.

* * *

Rebecca grabbed Rachel's tray along with her own. They had the same lunch account (mostly because the lunch lady got confused as to who was who), and Rachel tiredly punched the buttons. They sat at an empty table, a little ways from their normal table full of friends who were simply bursting with gossip. Rachel didn't gossip herself, but she liked to absorb information and _Rebecca_ liked to gossip, so it usually worked out.

"Are you alright?" Rebecca asked, opening her carton of chocolate milk as Rachel opened her carton. "Fine," she mumbled around the buttery roll.

"Yeah right," Rebecca snorted. "You just try to lose a dozen brain cells every English class. I know Joe was reading slow, but he's a scaredy-cat and I think you traumatized him--_again_."

"I've never traumatized him before!" Rachel argued.

"Well, I have," Rebecca said with no small amount of pride. "And he can't tell the difference between us, so it might as well have been you."

Rachel sighed. "Seriously, what's wrong?" Rebecca stopped joking, pushing her tray to the side and laying her arm on Rachel's shoulder. "You're not sick or something are you? Come on, let's go to the nurse's office and I'll tell dad to come pick you up."

"I'm not sick," Rachel disagreed, digging her heels into the floor. "I'm fine."

Rebecca retook her seat, but the worried gaze still remained. "Liar."

"We'll talk at home, okay?" Rachel replied. Rebecca wouldn't let it go. "There's nothing medically wrong with me, I swear."

"Mentally? Psychologically? Rach, tell me, is this teenage-angst sort of thing or is it something really, really important you _should_ be telling me?"

"Becca, I'm fine. Mentally, psychologically, physically, and any other -ically thing you can think of. No, I'm not in any sort of teenage-angst, and no, it's not that important. I'm just not in the mood to deal with school today, okay?"

Rebecca might not have been as smart as Rachel was, but she wasn't really all that stupid either. The only reason why Rachel hadn't skipped a grade (or three) was because of Rebecca. She didn't want to leave her behind to the nosy kids who would've been sure to bother her if Rachel did choose to skip a grade. As such, Rebecca was fine in a 7th grade Pre-AP class schedule. Rachel, on the other hand, was always severely under challenged. Rachel had a photographic memory and a habit of taking in what everybody said and pulling out the important bits. Rebecca never really did that, but she listened to the few people she knew wouldn't lie: Rachel.

Rachel usually got headaches every once in awhile from all the annoying things in the curriculum. The kids read too slow, the teachers explained too much, the math was too simple, the facts too repeated. Rebecca tried to help, but there wasn't much she could do apart from massage Rachel's head, which didn't work every time.

Rebecca normally felt entirely useless when it came to Rachel. Most she could do was cheer her up on a crappy day or worry about her whenever she complained, but there wasn't really anything she could do to treat the problems apart from letting Rachel skip a grade. Rebecca was a little selfish in that regard; she didn't want Rachel to go, and hoped that Rachel didn't want to be separated from her either.

* * *

The school day was finally over. Both Black twins had never been happier to go home. Rebecca, to finally figure out was wrong with Rachel, and Rachel, to finally figure out the miraculous change in the guest. They both boarded number 83, which was one of the more crowded buses, and sat in the same seat next to each other. Normally, both would have joined the conversations running around them, but Rachel was quiet, and to remain the twin thing (and maybe out of a little worry, but she'd never admit it), Rebecca had to be quiet too. Rachel pulled out their mother's Walkman, and both of them plugged their headphones into the cassette player.

When they were at their stop nearly forty minutes later, they scrambled off the bus with five other kids and raced home.

Rachel couldn't wait to get to know the new mystery called Sirius Black.

* * *

_I wanted to have this chapter sort of get more in depth with the rest of the Black family because they aren't seen at all (apart from being mentioned by Jacob) in Twilight, and I've always had a thing for wondering what kind of person the minor characters were._


	5. Chapter 5

_Mm...well, I didn't really feel like focusing on Sirius' depression anymore. You can see the last chapter as a "zoom-in", and this chapter as a "zoom-out". There's a lot more skipping scenes, but I'm hoping it makes sense once you reach the end (or, at least, it isn't that terribly confusing). Happy reading(s).  
_

* * *

Billy was having a very good day. Sirius pulled himself out of his rut (at last), Sarah promised to buy that fancy leather bound book (Sirius was still a spoiled brat, no doubt) he saw in Baine's Bookstore and a calligraphy ink pen that was similar to a wizard's quill--only muggle. Jacob actually ate his Cheerios, for once in his life, instead of pegging him with the whole-grain buggers. However, Jacob taught Harry how to peg Sirius, and Harry had better aim.

So now he sat with a laughing Sirius, pulling Cheerios out of his hair.

He should have resented the fact that Jacob now thought Sirius _liked_ having things thrown at him (and was now throwing his blocks at Sirius, missing, and hitting him instead), but he was relieved. Sirius was laughing. He was trying to forget by replacing the bad memories instead of drowning in them. So, Billy laughed along with Sirius and threw a Cheerio back at Jacob. Jacob ducked behind Harry, who grabbed the Cheerio out of the air and cooed at it.

Sirius laughed. "Kid's gonna be a great Quidditch player."

"What was Quidditch again?" Billy asked absentmindedly. Did Harry eat this Cheerio before he threw it? he wondered, grimacing as the soaked food product stuck to his fingers.

Sirius gasped. "You _don't _know what QUIDDITCH is?"

"Quudi, quudi!" Harry chanted, clapping his hands. "Wiidi, wuudi!" Jacob chanted along.

Sirius pointed indignantly at the children. "See! _They_ even know what quidditch is!"

Billy wanted to point out that they were just copying whatever Sirius said, but Sirius continued. "Quidditch is the sport--no, the _art_ of broomstick sports! Are you really telling me you don't know this MAGNIFICENT art?!"

"Uh, I'm a squib..."

"Excuses, excuses!" Sirius chirped. "Quidditch, dearest cousin, is the art of--"

"Isn't it like football?"

"NO!"

"Er, I thought it was. Grandpa said it was like football, only flying. He called it floating football."

"It's _not_ floating football, Bill!"

"He said it was," Billy argued.

"Yeah, well, the bloke was _wrong._"

"Grandpa Ephraim's _never_ wrong," Billy said with conviction.

Sirius glared with a Quidditch fanatic's glint in his eye. Billy sighed. His butt was going to be twenty feet off the ground on a magical twig within the hour.

Lovely.

* * *

Rebecca was a little...scared. She had avoided Rachel (as much as you could avoid a twin sister) since they got home, and Rachel was still furiously writing in her notebook. Rebecca sat on the top bunk with her History textbook open and a worksheet. The harsh scribbling was too distracting for Rebecca to get any work done. In vain, Rebecca stared at the textbook.

"Are you--"

"SH!" Rachel hissed. The words never stopped flowing.

"Hmpf," Rebecca grumbled. "Twin can't even say anything."

"I said SH!"

"Fine." She turned to her History homework. Stupid maniac sisters. Why hadn't she insisted on separate rooms? Mom always asked them if they wanted one...Rebecca peered over the edge of her bed and pulled up Rachel's backpack and dug out a snack. Oh, now she remembered.

Rachel always stole the fruit gummies.

* * *

"May I help you, ma'am?"

Sarah looked up from the bookshelf. "Oh, Adam, there's not really a need to call me ma'am. Sarah's fine."

The teenage boy shrugged. "You're my sister's teacher. Feels strange."

"Mrs. Black then, if it'll make you feel better."

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Black?"

Sarah ran her fingers over the journals. "I'm looking for blank journal. I kept thinking it was in this section, but I can't find it." She sighed. "Did you guys rearrange the shop again or am I getting old?"

"We rearranged," Adam assured. "And you don't look a day over twenty. They're over there," he pointed to the back, "on the last shelf at the bottom."

"Thank you." Sarah hurried her way over to the bookshelf. "By the way, can you get me a fancy calligraphy pen?"

Adam fetched it from another shelf. "Why do you need this stuff?"

"Billy's cousin moved in. He's sort of a high-classed guy, and Billy wants to make him at home," Sarah explained, pulling a leather bound book out of the shelf and flipping through the empty pages. "This'll do." She stood and handed the book to the store clerk. "How much will it cost?"

After paying the clerk, Sarah stepped back into the car and made her way home. Once she arrived, she was confused. There was a rather large bird flying in the yard...in fact, it was massive. She raced out of the car and ran over to the shed. She heard whooping and cheering and slowly made her way to the backyard.

"What's going on here?" Sarah asked, gripping the musket with her white fingers.

Sirius flew down on what looked like a stick, his hair ruffled and cheerful. "Hi-ya, Sarah! We're FLYING!" He grinned and raced past her.

"We? We WHO? My children better not be on one of those..those...floating STICKS!"

"Nawh," Sirius yelled back, "Just your husband!"

"That's even WORSE!" She dropped the gun onto the grass and ran over to the porch. "Get over here, and for pete's sake, LAND THAT THING!"

"Yes ma'am," Sirius muttered, dropping from the sky and trudging his way towards Sarah. "Where is my husband?" She hissed.

"Somewhere in the forest?"

Sarah clenched her fist. "You are so lucky that I don't condone violence. You are going to FIND Billy and bring him back befo--"

"You rang?" Billy appeared. Sarah ran to him, pushing the broom out of his hands and giving him a once over. "You're not hurt, are you, and are you alright and--" she started babbling as Billy stroked her hair. "I'm fine," he said. "Sorry for worrying you."

She slapped him harshly. "Worrying me? Oh, I'll show _you_ worried! You could've _died_ on that thing!"

"It's a broom!" Billy argued.

"Brooms don't FLY!"

"These brooms do," Sirius butt in. "They've got special charms and everything. Billy wouldn't have fallen off unless he let go."

"That makes me feel _so_ much better," Sarah said sarcastically. "Where are the children? Oh, please don't tell me they saw you!"

"They're in bed."

"Without dinner? Billy!"

"They had pizza!"

"You're not supposed to feed little toddlers _pizza! _It's bad for them!" Sarah looked at her watch. "On top of that, it's only seven! They're not going to sleep at seven; you'll be lucky in the girls didn't get curious and see what you two were doing!"

They continued to argue back and forth. The blue flowered curtain swung shut.

"What was that about?" Rebecca asked Rachel, who was frozen still.

"Flying brooms?" Rachel questioned. "People can't fly on brooms. That's only fairy tales."

"Well, Dad just did, and so did that Sirius guy."

Rachel glared at Rebecca. "That shouldn't be possible!"

Rebecca flopped back onto her bed. "Who says it's got to be possible?" she asked, folding her arms behind her head.

"For once, Becca, can't you get your head out of the clouds? We're not talking little kiddy stories. Those aren't real." Rachel scolded, hugging her teddy bear closer. "And you should stop relying on science so much," Rebecca retorted sulkily. "Let's just say, just this once, that those kiddy stories are real. What would you say they are?"

Rachel shrugged. Rebecca developed a thinking look. "If we don't think Quileute tribe stories, I'd personally say he was a witch. You know, cackling, warty and all. He even said 'special charms'; isn't that what magic spells are and stuff?"

"Wizard," Rachel corrected. "Witches are women. And he's not warty; he's as obsessed as you when it comes to fashion."

"Can't you imagine him killing himself because he had a wart?" Rebecca laughed. "It's the only thing I can think of."

"You've watched too many Disney movies," Rachel disregarded. "I don't think he's a wizard."

Rebecca shrugged. "Well, I say he is. What do you think?"

"Maybe that's a trick broom or something. It doesn't make sense why'd _he_ have it out of everybody else though." Rebecca snorted. "Oh, shut up, you. Maybe in Europe they're farther ahead in aerospace engineering. Hydraulics or something."

"Can't imagine the government would be too happy about that. And doesn't that seem like a step backwards instead of forwards, anyways? I mean, a floating stick? Imagine the advertising! 'Fall and Plumage to Your Death! Seats one person a broom.' It's not even travel sized!"

"How are we related?" Rachel asked with a sigh, dropping her head to the pink pillow.

"We came out of the same mother?" Rachel winced at the mental image. There was a long silence, broken only by Rebecca's shifting on her top bunk.

"Why don't we just ask them in the morning?" Rebecca said tiredly. She didn't feel like hashing anything out anymore. There was a math test tomorrow.

"They won't tell us. Adults are like that. Won't tell you anything if you don't need to know."

"Mhm," Rebecca agreed sleepily.

"Go to sleep, you big lug."

"Im not big.." she murmured. "'Less you are, then we is big.." She drifted off to sleep.

Rachel turned over and stared at the bed above her. The mattress was expanding and contracting ever so slightly to Rebecca's breathing. She almost wished she could be Rebecca; not to worry, not to fret, not such a coward. She based everything off science. Rebecca would run headfirst into any problem and battle her way through. She'd much rather be behind the front lines and strategizing instead of actually fighting. They matched each others faults. Rachel was the brain, Rebecca was the brawn.

But this time, Rebecca might be right, Rachel had to admit (even though she'd never say so aloud). No amount of hydraulics could lift a person that high, and the mention of 'charms'. But..witches and wizards?

Assuming it was true, why hadn't Dad ever mentioned it? He wouldn't have kept such an important secret from them (he'd be rather hypocritical), unless...Dad wasn't one? There wouldn't be a need to tell them if he thought it would never interfere with their lives...but if he was truly related to Sirius, who, if the theory was right, was a wizard...then why wasn't dad a wizard? On the same train of thought.....

Why weren't they?

* * *

"You are so lucky," Sarah murmured, shutting their bedroom door quietly behind her. "The girls are asleep."

"Why? We could just tell them that I'm a wizard," Sirius whispered, yawning. Billy had already gone to bed, saying that he'd already had his fill of pizza and riding a broom used a surprising amount of energy.

"Rebecca would be fine with the idea and laugh it off," she said, steering Sirius to the living room. "I'm worried about Rachel. She doesn't take it kindly when we keep secrets, and even worse, she's always the first one to figure it out."

"Then just tell her from the start," Sirius muttered, plopping back into an armchair. Sarah sat down on the love seat and pulled the pizza box towards her. She took a bite of a slice. "You've already been here for nearly two weeks. You've probably already been psychoanalyzed and sent to her personal lab for testing."

"She can do that?"

"Rachel can do just about anything she wants," Sarah muttered. "I really don't even know where she gets that trait from. Billy and I aren't that ambitious or suspicious."

Sirius laughed. "My side of the family. Everybody else _but _me is like that."

"I see." Sarah finished off the slice and stood up. "Well, I'll be heading to bed. Go to sleep soon."

Sirius nodded blearily. "Yeah, sure," he stumbled off to the stairs. Sarah made her way to the nursery and peered in. Jacob was sleeping like a rock, as usual. She looked on quietly in amusement. His teddy bear had been haphazardly thrown across the playpen and his blanket had miraculously ended up underneath the plastic structure. She placed the teddy bear next to Jacob's stomach and covered the two with a dark blue blanket from the drawer.

Sarah turned to check on Harry. Well, at least Harry was somewhat of a still sleeper. His blanket and stag plush were intact and within inches of his body, despite the fact the boy was obviously plagued by a nightmare. She smoothed back his sweaty bangs as he thrashed in his playpen, murmuring softly to avoid waking Jacob. His thrashing had stopped, but he continued to whimper and murmur to himself in baby talk. Sarah picked him up, and the little boy reached full consciousness. He cried, sucking his thumb. Her dress shirt was slowly soaked through and she walked around the room, bouncing the little baby.

"Baby moon, 'tis time for bed," she hummed. "Owlet leaves his nest now; Hide your little horned head in the twilight west now.." She bounced Harry slowly. His tears were starting to dry on her shirt. "When you're old and round and bright, You shall stay and shine all night." Harry had gone to sleep.

"Baby girl is going, too, In her bed to creep now; She is little, just like you," she murmured, pulling the blanket up to the baby's chin. "Time it is to sleep now; When she's old and tired and wise...She'll be glad to close her eyes." She tucked his hair behind his small ear. "Good night now, Harry."

* * *

The next morning, Rachel woke up before her alarm clock. She shut off the annoying beeping device and shook her sister awake. "Get up, get up," she muttered, ducking the flying fist as usual and slapping her twin on the cheek. "Up, up!" The other girl rolled over and moaned, kicking Rachel in the head and snuggling further into the blankets. Rachel glared angrily from her position on the floor and climbed the ladder. She stood on the frame's edge of the top bunk bed and yanked the mattress. The mattress came tumbling over the edge, dragging pajama-clad Rachel down with it. Rebecca landed on the wooden mesh of the bed frame and woke up with a start.

"OWWIE!" she cried, cradling her head. She turned to look around in confusion. "Eh? Wass going on?"

Rachel pushed the mattress away from her so that it was in the middle of their rug. "You wouldn't wake up! Hurry up, we've got to get ready early today, Becca!"

"Why.." she whined, even as she pulled herself out of bed.

"We're asking them today, remember?" Rebecca scratched her head and smacked her lips a few times. "When did we decide this?"

"Yesterday! _You_ said you would!"

"Did I?" She stumbled over to the bathroom. "Wait, wait! Come back and help me with the mattress!" Rachel cried, tugging the mattress uselessly towards the bunk bed. "I'm not that strong!"

"Yes ma'am," Rebecca murmured, walking obediently and dragging the mattress back to her bed.

After they had both gotten ready, they headed down towards the kitchen and took their customary places at the table. Sarah handed out waffles and the jar of maple syrup. Rebecca dug in, as Rachel cut the waffles meticulously.

Jacob and Harry were happily feeding each other in a strange food war. They had run out of Cheerios (they were all in the vacuum cleaner) so they were fighting with Froot Loops today. Sarah was trying to get as many of the cereal pieces between their mouths as possible, and Billy and Sirius were arguing about the weather.

"Why can't you guys get some sun?" Sirius complained. He pointed at his arm. "I used to be TAN, now I look like a ghost!"

Billy snorted. "Tan? You? Nonsense, Sirius. You've never been tan."

"I looked alive though!" ("That's debatable," Sarah scoffed.) He argued. "And even in England, it didn't rain this much."

"I can't imagine rain can be good for brooms," Rachel commented.

"It isn't! It can wear down the finish and causes the tail-twigs to misaligned and--" Sarah looked at the twins. "Be quiet, Sirius," she hissed.

"You saw them then, on the brooms yesterday." She stated, putting her utensils down and looking at the twins. Rachel refused to look up, and Rebecca kept on chewing. They didn't answer.

Sarah sighed. "Billy, call the school. Tell them the girls came down with a stomach virus last night." She picked up her own phone and dialed the office. "I'm calling in sick as well to take care of them so we can sort this out. Sirius, don't you even think about moving," she snapped. "You got us into the trouble--you're the one explaining us out of it."

"We're not going to school?" Rebecca repeated. "Seriously? AWESOME!"

Rachel glared at Rebecca. "We have a math test today though. We'll have to make that up and the homework as well," she reminded before she turned to Sirius. "Hurry up and explain."

Sarah whacked Sirius on the back of head when he made to open his mouth, the phone still in her hands. "Don't you dare start talking yet--Oh, hello, Amy? This is Sarah; I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to call in sick today. My girls came down with something last night and I'm going to have to call in sick. I'm sorry for the trouble; I hope it won't be too hard to find a substitute so late-"

Billy returned from the living room as Sarah hung up her cell. "Done," he replied. "How long do you think this will take? I invited the Swans over, remember, 'cause they've got a little girl for a play date with Jake and Harry."

Sarah collected the empty plates and place them aside. "Depends." She sat back down. "Rachel, how much have you concluded?"

Rebecca started off. "Sirius is from England, and there was something badly traumatic that happened to him there." Sirius started wringing his hands and hastily drank some water. Sarah looked worriedly at the supposed convict. "Sirius, why don't you take the boys to the living room? We'll call you back whenever we need you, but you don't need to be here the entire time. It won't be a problem," she assured sweetly. He nodded hastily, snatched both boys (who were miraculously silent) from their high chairs, grabbed the box of cereal and fled the room.

"Continue, girls." Billy urged.

They sneaked a glance at each other before continuing. "We looked at a few of the past calls Dad made on the phone. He called Dr. Drew at that hospital in Port Angeles a week ago," Rachel explained. "Sirius either fled from his thoughts or from actual people and started drinking himself into an oblivion behind our garage."

Billy winced. "I was sort of hoping you wouldn't go back there to see that..."

"It's a little suspicious when mom starts parking her car out front; she hates getting rained on, even if do have an umbrella." Rebecca said before she continued. "Something shocked him out of it which caused him to reappear in our dining room. He was a former prankster and has done many reckless things that people would call stupid. He's also probably been told that more than once because he admitted it when Rachel asked."

Sarah sighed. "You gathered this much before the broom incident. Anything else?"

"He's a wizard," Rebecca stated plainly.

Billy coughed his milk up. "And how do you figure that?"

"He has a flying broom, he said 'special charms'...and you said that he has natural talent, but Rach can't find him on the internet anywhere. If he had any real natural talent at anything, somebody would've blogged or posted something with his name."

Rachel didn't say anything as Rebecca explained her theory. She wouldn't disagree; if that wasn't true, there was no other way she could think of to explain the broom. They sat in silence.

Sarah looked in shock at Billy. "You've outdone yourselves this time," she murmured.

"So..." they trailed off.

"Are we right-"

"-or are we wrong?"

* * *

_Again, if there are mistakes, confusions, etc. tell me. I think it'd be awesome to know what Rachel writes in her notebook....  
_

_By the way, did anybody know that snuck actually isn't a word? It's a coined American word; the right word is sneaked (though, now, both terms are technically correct). I didn't know that, but I kept getting a red squiggly line in Firefox whenever I used it. Sorry, it was just interesting. xD  
_


	6. Chapter 6

_There are a lot of people who are more interested in when the Cullens are going to appear. So here's the one and only time I'll address it; I'm sticking to canon. If you research the rest of the Black family in Twilight, I'm sure you'll get what I mean. Until then, you get this little scene (it's not the first thing, so don't yell at me.) which explains what they're doing before they get to Forks, and why Rosalie hates new schools.....have fun. I'm only estimating, but I'm hoping for the Cullens to arrive in Forks (hopefully) the chapter after the next. No promises though.  
_

_The Swan family's ages don't quite match up with the canon. Don't bother pointing out that by the time Bella's 3, Renee and Charlie have already divorced. I can't think of any other reason of why Bella would be there in November-ish._

_

* * *

_

They sat in a staring contest. The clock on the far wall ticked by with an echo in the silent, tense air. The quartet heard childish giggling and the loud whirring of the old television set. Bill broke the silence with his loud sigh that startled both his wife and his daughters.

"Sirius will have to forgive me," he muttered to himself, looking at his rough, calloused hands. He raised his dark eyes to stare at the girls on the other side of their worn, rectangular table. "You are completely, utterly, and absolutely right."

Both girls took a deep breath. Rebecca had a prideful self-glow shining through her soft face. On the other hand, Rachel's eyes had widened to the size of oranges in shock. Unnoticed by the adults on the other side, the younger twin's fingers searched the air for her slightly older counterpart's beneath the table and squeezed tightly. The elder twined their fingers together and lightly swung it back and forth in comfort. Rachel slipped her head forwards and her eyelids closed. Rebecca stared quietly at her father as Rachel regathered and reorganized her spinning thoughts. She breathed deeply through her nose and angled her head towards her father and stared defiantly with unwavering determination.

"What does being a wizard mean exactly?"

Rebecca grinned to herself and squeezed Rachel's hand.

* * *

"Emmett," Edward hissed angrily. To the surrounding vampires, it was as good as a yell. "What did you _do?_" He glowered at Emmett's crimson eyes, hidden behind yellow color contacts. The large man shrunk to the size of a large patio table in the parking lot and gazed with begging eyes at his wife. His beautiful wife crossed her arms and spun on her crystal high heels. She turned back to glare down at her husband (currently huddled in a ball next to their newest, fancy European car) with her icy topaz eyes.

"Oh no," she hissed below human hearing level as medics passed them by. "You have just caused us to move schools _dear husband of mine_. We are going to _Hyder, Alaska_ which has required fucking _uniforms_ because Edward," here she shot him a disgusted glance, "wanted a taste of _home_ and his little _soldier-wannabe days._" She grabbed her husband up by the collar and pulled him close to her snarling face. "You've just caused all my precious diamonds to be completely _worthless._ They are going to be subjected to years of _solitary confinement_ in my _jewelry box_, because you had to be an _idiot_ and _eat someone!"_ She stomped off in the direction of the hospital.

"Have fun sleeping on the couch," Edward snickered. It was more than enough punishment for the perverted (currently whimpering) vampire.

Jasper wandered into the parking lot, his eyes a dark umber and with his fingers shaking. "He taste any good?" Jasper asked with a whine.

Emmett was more than happy to change subjects from his punishment. "Oh, Jason's blood tasted brilliant. Better than any bear in the world." He kissed his fingertips in an imitation of an Italian chef. "It was _magnifico. _Gourmet vampire food; five star restaurant Jaspy, five stars."

Jasper whimpered. "Please, oh please say you saved some for me. Please?" His eyes darkened a shade.

"Sorry bro," Emmett said, patting Jasper on his shoulder enough to break his shoulder blade, "but I drank every little las-"

"Jasper!" Alice's voice called from the emergency room doorway. "Nicotine," she reminded. "You can't attack the dead guy and suck him of every last drop." She sidled up to him and curled her small arms around his waist. "You've been doing really well, Jazz. Don't break the record just yet," she murmured in his ear, nuzzling his honey-colored hair and kissing him on the side of the neck.

"Every good addict has a relapse," he replied in quiet self-doubt.

"Not my blond addict," she cooed. Her eyes were patient and forgiving. They caused Jasper to peer at his shoes in shame. "Yes ma'am."

Alice nodded approvingly and pecked him on the cheek before turning to Emmett. Jasper wrapped his marble arm around her small shoulders as her worry started to seep through. "Emmett, Carlisle received a call earlier. It was important enough that he left the autopsy to Betty, the surgeon nurse. Esme's been doing nothing but cleaning the house. They haven't made a decision yet, so I can't see anything but us moving to Alaska."

"Carlisle's worried," Jasper broadcasted. "I think it has something to do with this being your third singer you've eaten. He's slightly..stressed, and it's not operation stress."

Carlisle swept by them in a hurry, the operating latex gloves still on his hands. They heard him muttering distractedly. "Yellowknife, Columbus, Cleveland, Forks, Hyder, Denali.." he murmured as he passed.

The group of ignored vampires waited until he entered the white building with whirring machines before they looked at each other. "Yellowknife?" Emmett asked. "Aren't we going to Hyder?"

Edward's shoulders were tense and his fingers were clutched into fists. His eyes had turned from their topaz color to a quickly darkening amber. "Volturi," he hissed. "They've requested Emmett in court..." he closed his eyes in concentration. "I can't read anything else from him; Carlisle's thinking about how to disguise the bite mark. He's thinking to pass it off as a snake--Eastern Mississauga Rattlesnake's running through his head. He's about to make more puncture marks with his fangs so the bite matches up."

The mind-reading boy turned to his future-seeing sister. She had a spaced out expression on her face and distant eyes; Edward waited until they passed. "Alice?"

She shook her head. "Carlisle doesn't plan on flying to Volterra for another 'visit'. He wants us to split up--which was why he was naming off all our houses--and run, in case they do try to seek out Emmett." She pulled Jasper's arm from around her shoulder and caressed it gently. "We should go home, tell Esme, and start packing."

Emmett nodded. "I'll go tell Rosalie. Maybe she won't be as mad that we aren't going to have to wear uniforms." He rushed off towards the hospital.

"And the house?" Edward asked.

Jasper's eyes hardened, his face set into his military mind. Alice let go of his fingers.

"Demolish it."

* * *

Remus Lupin returned to his small, well-worn apartment, throwing the bills and letters onto the rickety table being supported by old books. He flicked on the light and fell back into the one chair decorating his kitchen. He heaved a great big sigh and ran his fingers through his graying hair. _Funny,_ he thought. _My hair wasn't gray before._

He stared blearily at the cracked ceiling. The war was over; everybody everywhere was praising the Boy-Who-Lived. His honorary godson, Harry Potter had become a celebrity overnight. The world felt sorry for the fate of his parents, but it hardly stopped them from toasting the boy. However, the beloved baby they wanted to praise to the skies was, to their utmost horror and shock, missing. They were frantic to the point of being hysterical.

He'd been kicked out of his old apartment within a week, his job a day later from being suspected for "doing harm" to Harry because of his connection to his father and Harry. Then the Aurors broke down his door and dragged him to a harsh interrogation under Veritaserum with no original protocol. He had been out for just a little over two weeks, recovering from his truth-serum related poisoning in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, which had caused him to be fired from another job.

He was a werewolf. Not a human being, no, a dark monster. So it didn't matter if Dumbledore vouched for him or if Minerva McGonagall herself was pressing charges with Amelia Bones (who had befriended Remus during his school days) on the Department of Magical Law Enforcement on his behalf. He had no rights. The Ministry refused to allow him to take care of Harry, should he ever be found, and his testimony (including his suspicions and the unmatching characteristics of his friends) meant nothing to the Wizengamot.

Personally, he thought Peter's sudden heroics a little too strange and Sirius' apparent dark wizard status as Voldemort's right-hand man, just way too far off. The Sirius he knew hated his family enough to try to kill his father, but Remus even had to admit that the evidence against him was too much to fight back and the the way he acted that night...the fact that he'd run away from the Aurors with a kidnapped Harry only made it worse. It only made Sirius appear the more guilty, even though Remus was firm in the opinion that he wasn't _guilty_ at all.

Remus sighed. It didn't really matter what had happened in the end, did it? Peter was dead. James was dead. Lily was dead. Sirius was as good as dead, if he ever returned to England. Harry was missing, and if the papers were right, in the hands of a madman, dead like the rest of the Potters, or as good as dead. Voldemort was dead due to a little boy, and his dark forces had scattered.

The war was over.

Remus walked over the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. The flames burned green. He stepped into the fireplace and yelled. "Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Professor Minerva McGonagall's Office!"

He tumbled past dozens of fireplaces in a whirl of color. Remus fell through his old Transfiguration Professor's fireplace and onto her carpet.

"Remus!" said professor ran over to him and set him upright. "Filius will be here in a minute. Have you made any success at finding any sort of item that belonged to Harry?"

The weary werewolf dug through his pockets. "Yes, I found some charred toys in the rubble, which, like we thought, the Aurors didn't think was worthwhile evidence...granted, they aren't Harry's favorite, but they should work. I couldn't find his little stag." He stacked the pierced teething ring, black bath toys and some torn blocks onto her desk.

McGonagall nodded quickly, waving her wand. A tea set floated above her desk and served two cups of tea, and her desk drawer unlocked itself and a tin of biscuits settled next to the cups. "Help yourself," she said, picking out a series of books on her bookshelf. "The toys will have to be restored to their original states to be of any use."

Remus nodded, putting a lump of sugar into his tea and taking a biscuit. The dark circles of his eyes stood out even more in the bright natural light streaming through the professor's window. He knew he looked horribly unkempt with his ragged robes, unshaven face and red eyes, but he had never cared that much about appearance. Professor Flitwick would be arriving from his modest home in Scotland in minutes, and soon, the only three people in the wizarding world who weren't celebrating would be gathered in one room.

He took a bite of his biscuit. Minevra didn't look so great either. She seemed to be looking older, with more wrinkles and red eyes as well. She'd been mourning the loss of two of her favorite students as well. Her hat was lopsided, a strange look for the professor who always appeared clean-cut and harsh and took pride in herself and her teaching. But he supposed she was the same as Filius, who was also sad about the passing of his greatest Charm student and her husband. With the couple gone and the toddler missing, they were too grieved to remeber unimportant things. On top of that...

They were all too worried about Harry James Potter, no matter how much Dumbledore said that he was still alive.

Before, it was fine. If he was alive, they had a chance. But now that the "miracle baby" had been gone for nearly a month, people were giving up hope and Auror search parties were dropping out, one after another...

Now, saying that 'he was still alive' just wasn't good enough anymore for them.

* * *

The girls had retired to their room. Billy sighed, leaning against the kitchen counter. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I guess that went better than planned."

Sarah made her way over the sink and turned on the faucet. She soaped up the sponge and started washing the dishes. "Do you mind going into the old garage shack and getting those books Sirius gave you those years ago?"

"Can't," Billy replied brusely. "They're in that trunk he sent me and I lost the key."

"Then we can drive to Seattle and see if we can go get some informational books. Maybe bring the girls, to prove it that we're not completely insane."

"We'll have to do it next weekend or something. The Swan family's coming over today," he sighed. "How am I supposed to explain my girls--and my wife skipping school? He's the new police chief for lord's sake. I'll be lucky if Charlie doesn't turn us in or something. The man's got too good of a heart and a strong will."

"I'm sure his wife'll mellow him out a bit," Sarah soothed. "If not, I'm sure he's called in sick at least once as a trooper for a nice break."

Billy snorted. _Charlie Swan_, call in sick? The man would go in even if he pneumonia and wouldn't get _out_ of his office unless he was fired or kidnapped.

* * *

"Hello!" Renee called into the house from the doorway. "Anybody here?"

Charlie slipped off his shoes and hung his coat. He cupped his mouth with his hands and yelled in a football-like fashion. "BILLY!"

Said man ran through the kitchen doorway with cookie crumbs all over his shirt. "I'm not deaf!" he yelled back, brushing the crumbs off his shirt. "There's a game on in fifteen minutes," he said. Charlie rushed to the living room in his socks as Billy turned to Renee. "How have you been, dealing with Charlie, the workaholic?"

Renée laughed, shrugging out of her own coat and shoes. "It's been fine, really. He still likes to stay up and do some paperwork, but Bella here," she tickled the giggling baby's tummy, "usually pulls him out of it. She's such a daddy's little girl."

"Aw, that's nice to hear," Billy said cheerfully, taking her coat and the baby's and hanging them both up in the hallway closet. "My girls are so independent--it's like they don't even need me half the time. They'd much rather stick to their mother."

"Speaking of which, where's Sarah?"

Billy jerked his head toward the kitchen. "She's fixing up some snacks," he replied. "Here, I'll take Isa-"

"Bella, Billy. Isabella's such a pretty name, but it's a mouthful."

"Forgot, forgot," he laughed. "Anyways, Jake and Harry are in the living room. You and Sarah can have your girly chit-chat in the kitchen."

Renée quickly walked off to the kitchen as Billy made his way to the living room. He placed Bella next to a curious Harry and sat back in his armchair. Sirius cleared his throat. "Er, Bill, who's your friend and the little girlie?" He asked from his spot on the floor next to Jake. They were stacking blocks.

Billy sighed. "Knew I forgot something. Charlie, this is Sirius Black, distant cousin. Sirius, this is Charlie Swan, my workaholic friend. Little girl's his daughter."

Sirius turned to Charlie. "She's cute. How old?"

"Almost 3," Charlie replied distantly. The football game was announced on the television, and Charlie's attention was caught. Soon enough, Billy and Charlie were screaming at the screen like fanatics. Sirius twitched a bit before turning back to the toddlers, who hadn't even looked up. He knew that James usually yelled at the Wizarding Wireless Network at a Quidditch match, and he knew Billy yelled at the television now, and so did Charlie. Apparently the kids were immune.

He watched them pile up their blocks, and soon enough the pile was tall enough that only Bella could reach the top by standing. The tower toppled over amongst giggling.

It was amusing to watch. Bella would usually end up toppling the tower by falling on it (she ended up tripping on leftover, occasionally invisible blocks half the time), in which Harry would get squished (he always sat close to the tower for some reason), and Jacob would sit off to the side in giggles. Harry would throw things at Jacob (often walking off to fetch a wayward block or some other squishy item) while pouting, and then Jacob would throw something back, and the boys would have a mini-throwing war while Bella re-made their tower. Then the cycle would start again.

After awhile, they got bored of it. Jacob started pulling on Bella's little pink lacy dress, while Bella started helping him. Apparently, she didn't like frilly dresses either. Harry looked on in confusion ("Eh boo?" he asked.) before yanking on the lace. The lace tore with a loud ripping sound. "Eeek!" Bella screamed as the trio tumbled down in a mesh pile. Harry whined from the bottom of the pile as Jacob cheered from his "king of the hill" position at the top.

Bella glared at Jake with a red face ("Fat baby," she whined.) and clenched her little hand into a fist. Sirius quickly snatched Jake before the girl could sock him one. She picked herself up and pouted at Jake. "Daddy, he sit on Bella!" she whined.

Her father turned to look at Bella (it was half time). "I'm sorry, Bells. Do you want to sit up here with Daddy?"

She shook her head quickly with round brown eyes. "No no no, Daddy. Daddy goes up too much and make Bella fall." She planted her bottom on the carpet to finish her love of the ground.

Charlie winced. "Sorry." Bella walked over to Harry as soon as her father turned to back to the game. "Gimmie," she said, pulling her hand out. "Lacy. Imma give to Mommy. She likes."

"No. Wanna cookie."

"Bella no got cookie."

"No wacy." The younger toddler pulled the lacy close and dropped his blocks.

"My lacy. Mommy buy for Bella."

"Coooookie," Harry replied, hugging the lace closer. "Want cookie."

"Harry," Sirius scolded, tugging on the lace. "The lace is Bella's. Give it back."

"No."

Sirius sighed. "Harry..."

"Cookie!" he demanded.

Sirius tugged on the lace again. Harry had a good grip, and glared daggers at his godfather before looking at his hand. The little boy grinned wide before chomping on Sirius' fingers.

He cursed, yanking his fingers away from his cannibal, godfather-eating godson. "Billy, got a cookie?"

"Kitchen," the man replied distractedly, his eyes glued to the screen. "Come on, you stupid quarterback! CATCH!"

Sirius retreated to the kitchen. No way was he going back out. Bella could give both boys a black eye for all he cared (mostly because he could heal it later, but that wasn't really the point). He could tattletale to Sarah (who resided in the haven called the kitchen) who would kick Charlie, the overprotective father who apparently already taught his daughter to beat up any boys that bothered her, out of the house. He liked his fingers attached, _thank you very much.

* * *

Again, if there are any mistakes, suggestions, random questions, feel free to mention it. By the way...Sorry, but Rachel and Rebecca aren't going to be magical (they've never shown signs of magic). They're also squibs. Thank you for reviewing (or lurking, whichever).  
_


	7. Chapter 7

_Mm...For people asking, I've decided that Bella will get a somewhat major role, but she's not going to fall for Edward Cullen. As for her apparently bully-like attitude last chapter....have you ever met a three year old? They mellow out after awhile, but she was in that "mine" stage, where everything in the world belongs to her. For anyone wondering about Remus, no, he's not going to be homeless. He wasn't homeless in canon, and he's got more than enough willpower to get through it. The Potters left him some money when they passed away as well. The Cullens shall be arriving in Forks after this chapter. (I promise.)  
_

_Anyways...thank you for the reviews, and happy reading._

_

* * *

_

_February 20th, 1994_

"Dad!!" Rebecca screamed, running across the house and into the living room. Her father looked up from his place on the couch in curiosity. "Harry won't let go of Teddy!" The four-year old was dangling by the nape of his pajamas (they had failed to get him into regular clothes this Saturday; the boy refused to wear anything but his pajamas or rainbows) from her fingers. She held him much like she would hold a dirty sock. His arms were latched tight around the plush bear, his sharp teeth firmly buried in the bear's slightly torn left ear.

Billy sighed and flipped the channel from a game show to a sitcom. "SIRIUS! Your godson is eating Rebecca's dolls again!"

"Sacrifice the doll!" Sirius yelled back from the attic.

"NO! IT'S TEDDY!" Rebecca screamed back. "I've had him since FOREVER!"

Harry chewed on the ear happily. "Nom nom nom nom," he said happily.

"MOM!"

Sarah walked out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Harry, please....Kite-eating trees eat kites, remember?"

The boy shook his head. "Kites no taste good." Rebecca shrieked. "KITE-EATING TREE? You took him to see our school play, _didn't you mom_? I told you not to!"

Sarah winced under the onslaught of her daughter and ignored it. "Kites _don't _taste good," she corrected.

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Harry, why don't you find Jacob and play with him?"

He shook his head. "Jake won't let I eats mud pies." He continued to whine about how Jacob wouldn't let him play with his new green toy truck Jake had gotten for his birthday. Sarah smiled and nodded, but after ten minutes, her smile strained.

Rachel set down her copy of _Pride and Prejudice _on the coffee table and picked up a red picture book_. _"Harry," she called. "Why don't you come over and help me read Corduroy?"

The boy cheered, jumped down from his hanging position, dropped the previously hostage teddy bear and ran over to the couch. He settled himself in Rachel's lap and pulled the book to himself.

"Corduroy is a bear who once lived in the toy 'partment of a biiig store..."

* * *

_May 10th, 1994_

"Charlie, hey," Sirius stood up from the seat on the porch and led Charlie to the swinging bench. "Bells, the lot of them are out by the shed."

The girl nodded shyly in her overalls and raced off.

"You alright?" Sirius asked, sitting back down on the bench next to Charlie and tossing a beer towards the man.

"Been better." His fingers popped the can open and he took a swig quickly. "Billy told you?"

"That you and Renée are getting divorced?" Charlie nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, he told...Don't mean to be rude or anything, but did she tell you why?"

"She doesn't like the rain," he replied.

"You could move instead, you know," Sirius replied. Not liking rain seemed like a stupid reason to divorce somebody. Charlie sighed bitterly. "She's trying not to make this anymore painful than it already is," he explained. "Saying she doesn't like the rain...it's so much easier than telling the truth."

"Which is?"

"She fell in love with the idea of getting married and being in love. She doesn't love me. She hasn't for awhile," he continued. "Won't try to stop her. If she thinks it's better if we got divorced, then we'll get divorced."

Sirius sighed. "You've got it bad."

"Am I that obvious?"

Sirius decided not to reply. "How's Bella taking it? You tell her yet?"

"She's taking it...better than I expected a seven year old to. I thought she might want to stay here because..well, she grew up in Forks. But, well...she's too smart for her own good sometimes," Charlie said mournfully. "Renée...she can't take care of herself. She can, but...she needs something to depend on. Bella said she wanted to go with Renée instead. They're going to Riverside, California when school ends."

"Daddy, Daddy!" Bella hollered, running up towards them.

Charlie immediately sat up. "Bells, darling, what happened to you?"

She was covered from head to toe in gooey mud that dripped down her face. Her pigtails had come undone, leaving her hair in a floating mess with twigs and leaves. She was grinning all the same and held out her hands excitedly, jumping from one foot to another. "Daddy, look! Jake showed me how to make a mud pie and Harry said to give it to you!"

Bella handed the pie tin to her dad with a smile. "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful honey, but why are you covered in mud?"

"We had a mud war! Rebecca's really good at shooting, but she's really bad at saving people properly," Bella pouted before running off again. "Talk to you later, Daddy!"

"Okay, sweetheart!" he yelled back. He turned to Sirius, who had collapsed in giggles. "Shut it, Black."

"Seven years of dealing with a kid," he chuckled, "and all you get is a mud pie?"

Charlie glared. "Mud pies are good stuff, you know."

"You're going to eat that thing?"

He laughed. "Not in your lifetime!" He balanced the pie in one hand. "Hey, did I ever tell you I was the dodge-ball king back in high school?"

"Nope," Sirius replied, still heaving from laughter.

Charlie grinned and heaved the mud pie at Sirius.

* * *

_November 27th, 1997_

_Thanksgiving was fun, as usual. It's still really strange to go to a big cookout on the beach instead of staying indoors (not to mention dry!) with a turkey and mashed potatoes and stuff. Billy says that everybody in the tribe's considered family, so everybody brings some food and they have a big barbeque, games, races, and whatever else they can think of (pie throwing, ha!)._

_The twins have been "introducing" me to things. We did football last summer, basketball in the fall, ice skating (my butt still has bruises) in the winter, tennis in the spring, and swimming (Rachel gave me a rubber ducky as a trophy for staying afloat for more than half a second) last season. Now, the duo has it in their minds to teach me baseball. Today was the first day._

_I have a black eye._

_I think this is Rachel's revenge for turning all her clothes black. She doesn't like being known as a goth apparently._

_Rachel's all happy about her scholarship to some school on the east coast, but it's not a full scholarship like the one she has in Seattle and Spokane. She's completely into her studies and bothering the family in her free time. On the other hand, Rebecca's really excited about joining the tennis team. She likes shooting people in the head with tennis balls, and has been training non-stop, even if they don't have any tournaments 'till Spring. _

_On top of that, today was the day she introduced her new boyfriend, Nathan Cole. He's a pretty decent guy, I think, but Billy still threatened to slit his throat in the middle of the night. I can't help but feel sorry for that guy if they plan to get married for dealing with Billy. He's really nice about it though, and even follows Billy's ridiculous rules, like staying at least three feet away from his daughter, returning at 9 PM, not driving more than 5 miles away (Billy even checks his mileometer!) and not calling his daughter on her cellphone more than three times a day (though he's free to call the home phone with Billy listening in)._

_I'm sort of jealous of the kid though._

_He has a decent tan._

_He doesn't really stand out amongst the Quileute (they're all born with darker skin), but I imagine in Forks, he sticks out like a sore thumb. Apparently, he's a transfer student from Hawaii. A surfer kid.  
_

_Harry and Jacob are doing really well. They've grown taller, more annoying, and like to prank people (yes! I HAVE SUCCEEDED!). They're pretty good pranksters, even if they're pretty young. Harry turned 7 just a little while ago, and fooled everybody into eating the cake, which ended up being made of _dog food_ and _cat kibble_. That was amazing!_

_Sarah and Billy are doing pretty well too. They're getting a bit up in years though, and Sarah's been keeping track of Billy as best as she can. She retired from teaching just this year since Billy was diagnosed with diabetes, and she's fixed his diet to something more healthy. Billy's been accommodating, but he's been honest with me; he doesn't think it's working all that well. He hasn't told Sarah (he plans to soon, he swears), but sometimes, his feet go numb and he ends up falling or tripping, and he's not all that sure why. He's been passing it off as him getting old, but he's getting more and more clumsy and worried. Just the other day, he nearly fell down the stairs._

_It's really reminding me of Mrs. Potter and Mr. Potter, and I'm desperately hoping it doesn't turn out the same way. Muggles haven't found a way to cure it (they're trying), so I scheduled an appointment in Seattle with a professional who will probably know what's going on with Billy. We plan on going on the weekend under the cover of a fishing trip (let's completely ignore the fact I hate smelly dead fish) so we won't worry Sarah._

_Well, anyways, this entry's gotten depressing enough. Rebecca and Billy are yelling at me to watch the football game, so I better get going before Rachel kicks me down the stairs just to get them to shut up._

_Sirius_

_

* * *

_

_January 3rd, 1998_

Remus stared blearily at the map. He, Flitwick, and McGonagall had long since gotten the coordinates of Harry Potter, and by association, Sirius Black. They'd destroyed anything else they could find that used to belong to them. They'd used an obscure ritual that Flitwick only recalled because Lily had approached him about it for extra studies. It wasn't something easy to do and often was looked down on by the Ministry because the ritual was considered an evasion of privacy. It served their needs though.

The ritual only had to be used once. It would track a registered being on a map with a dot and a label (much like the Marauder's map) and it would follow them wherever they were. When they died or went somewhere off the map, the dot would disappear. It was very, very similar to the Marauder's map. He remembered skimming through the schematics of it as a student, and later modifying the same ritual to relabel each being depending on their appearance on a defined area (Hogwarts) instead of manually registering every person that walked into the building. The only things they needed was an object used by the being they wanted to register, a difficult potion (with the rather pricey Demiguise venom as the base ingredient), specific runes, and three magical people.

Because of this ritual, they'd known for nearly six years where Harry resided.

However, Dumbledore was fine with the idea of Harry being simply alive. He was too busy trying to rebuild the Ministry of Magic from the inside out and protecting muggleborn rights to really do any real action about it. He was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, a Light icon and the Ministry's conscience; it was hard to find free time to go to Washington. Not to mention, the man was getting up in years, even for wizards. Remus didn't resent the old Headmaster for having his hands tied.

Minerva and Filius were teaching for most of the year, and when they weren't, they had often had other issues to deal with. Minerva's nephew had a bad track record, and she was trying to straighten him out, as well as assisting the Unspeakables in their research (which she wasn't allowed to talk about). Filius, on the other hand, was busy teaching his apprentice about the more advanced and obscure charms. None of them had the time to request, register (which was more than enough stress on its own), and then take an international portkey to Washington, and then try to find two people in a population of five million, not including unregistered, magical households that dotted the forests.

On top of that, Remus wasn't sure if he really wanted them to find Harry first. It was sort of selfish of him, but he really wanted to know the truth for himself, not from somebody else's mouth. Minevra and Filius would be willing to listen to Sirius, but whether or not they'd believe him was an entirely different story.

He dropped his head down onto his open copy of _Hogwarts, A History._ He really was pathetic....he opened his eyes blearily and caught the Gryffindor bookmark he had placed in the tome.

...Dear Lord, was he a Gryffindor or _not?_

Remus tore the large world map from the wall and rolled it up in his satchel. Screw it, he was pulling a Sirius. He snatched the phone from its' cradle and dialed.

"Hello, Mr. Masen? I'm sorry, but I'm resigning."

* * *

_January 25, 1998_

_Ding-dong!_

"Hey! Will someone get that?"

_Ding-dong!_

"Aw, come on! I'M NOT LEAVING MY SUPER BOWL!"

Sirius threw his cuddled football at the man. "I'm not leaving either, so stop looking at me!"

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

"FINE!"

_Ding-DONG! Ding-DONG!_

"LET YOURSELVES IN, THE BLOODY IDIOT BEHIND THE DOOR!" Sirius screamed.

"You're lucky I'm used to Dad," Bella muttered as she yanked the door open. As if on cue, her father rushed past her, threw his coat at the closed closet door, jumped the couch and landed right between Billy and Sirius. The popcorn bowl tipped over onto the police chief, who had snatched Sirius' football and kissed it.

"Please, oh please tell me I didn't miss anything!"

Bella sighed as she hung the discarded coat. "We brought mashed potatoes?"

Rachel came tromping down the stairs. "Bella, is that you?" She took the platter hastily from the exasperated eleven year old and put it on the dining table.

"Nice to see you," Bella grinned. "Where's everybody else?"

"Upstairs in Sirius' room. We're playing a game of Monopoly." She pointed outside at the rain. "Can't make mud pies in this weather. Sorry girlie."

Bella made her way up the stairs. "Not that big of an issue. Teams or singles?"

"Teams," Rachel replied.

"I'm on your team," she declared.

"What, don't want to team up with your _boyfriend_ Jacob?" Bella glared and punched Rachel in the arm. "Don't even joke about that!"

"Aw, he not good enough for you?"

"You be quiet. He might have a little crush on me-"

"Says you. He hasn't shut up about you yet."

"-but it's not mutual. I don't like him_ that way_! He's like my little brother."

Rachel laughed. "But why team up with me? I'm sure Harry would like to have you on your team at least."

"Throwing hotels at Becca is real fun, don't get me wrong, but I'd much rather take over the United States." Bella replied.

* * *

_April 6th, 1998_

"Why won't you let me drive?" Rebecca whined.

"You crashed into a stop sign last time I let you," Rachel replied easily, dropping the car keys into her pocket. Rebecca sulked and yanked her locker open. "It wasn't there before!"

"It's been there since forever."

Rebecca shrugged. "Anyways, to homeroom!" She stalked off towards the main hallway.

"There's an assembly today," her twin reminded in amusement, walking the other direction. Rebecca spun around and ran after her to catch up.

"I knew that."

"Of course you did. Where's that annoying stalker of you-"

As if on cue, Nathan rushed out from the hallway. "Hey Becca, Rach," he said with his good cheer, hugging his girlfriend around the middle and pecking her on the cheek. Rachel sighed, covering her eyes with her fingers. "Speak of the devil..." Rebecca giggled. "Nate, 'member...PDA around Rach?"

"Right, right, sorry. What d'you think the assembly's about?"

"School standings," Rachel informed promptly. "The principal told me that the graduation robes arrived today."

They made their way to the gym doors that were covered in red curtains. Principal Kenly was standing outside the door, a sober look on her face. Nathan looked on in confusion, but pulled Rebecca over the door's threshold regardless as Rachel stopped in front of the authority figure.

"Ms. Blacks, I'm sorry, but I need to talk to you both. Mr. Cole, please, go on ahead."

Nate stared at Mrs. Kenly before sighing. "Uh, see you inside then," he murmured. "I'll save some seats."

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Cole," Principal Kenly said before pushing the protesting senior through the swishing doorway. Rebecca blew a kiss back at him apologetically as another teacher came and dragged her melodramatic boyfriend by the ear.

Rachel ignored Nate's loud begging. "Mrs. Kenly?"

The esteemed principal sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I have two things to tell you before you can go anywhere. Would you like to hear the first bit of news or the second?"

"First."

She cleared her throat. "Well, the first thing is, Rachel, you're the valedictorian for the graduating class of 1998."

"And the second thing?" Rebecca asked.

"Your father called this morning and requested you meet him as soon as possible at Forks Medical Center."

* * *

_May 23rd_, _1998_

Rebecca stared blankly at the crowd as Mrs. Kenly handed her diploma with a small smile that she didn't feel like returning.

The word had spread around quickly. Sarah Black was dead, from a drunk driver in a hit-and-run. Quileutes had been visiting their house throughout the week, offering their condolences. The Clearwaters and Charlie Swan had taken over planning the funeral to lessen the load on Billy. Renée and Bella were even flying in for the funeral, and both had simply been sobbing on the phone. Sirius was running back and forth playing chauffeur for the boys, who were simply too downtrodden to do much and often went to school for an hour before wanting to go home.

All the teachers obliged the teary family, and there weren't many in La Push that weren't sympathetic.

So, no one said anything when she didn't smile and wave at the crowd like the other graduates, and they forgave her for walking pass the unperturbed principal and superintendent without shaking their hands. She just wasn't in the mood for celebrating anything.

They had excused Rachel for not making a customary speech, and made due with asking the crowd to congratulate her through their applause for being valedictorian of the year. Instead, they had the salutatorian and the president of the Honor Society representative speak in her place. The students were extremely accommodating; the Quileute tribe was a tight-knit group. Most people knew the Blacks, and those who didn't were easily convinced. They pushed Nathan to sit next to her, even if (according to alphabetical order) five people should have been between the couple.

Nate gave a half-hearted smile as he rubbed circles on the back of her hands. He didn't say a word about her red eyes or dark dress selection, only threaded his fingers through hers. His warm, large hands were reassuring, and she held on them for life. Rebecca wasn't all that sure which god she'd pleased to get such a nice fiance.

He had proposed to her back in April. They were the young couple of the year, and just about everybody thought they were sickeningly sweet. They had planned to get married as soon as October, but their marriage was delayed until further notice. Rachel wasn't up to planning the wedding, and it seemed too awkward to be looking through bridal magazines with Sarah criticizing each one for having too many unwanted, Rebecca-hated ruffles.

However...Rebecca didn't want to stay in Forks anymore. Rachel didn't want to either. It had too many good memories, and made them paralyzingly homesick for the past.

Rachel continued to plan to leave home for Apollo College in Spokane with a full scholarship. Her car was packed to the brim, ready for her 7 hour trip. She'd chosen not to run away from the state, just in case something happened and the family needed her. She didn't want to see La Push, but she couldn't stand anywhere else but Washington. She loved the place and the people to run away forever. She didn't want to be alienated or isolate herself; after being a twin for so long, she wouldn't be able to stand it.

On the other hand, Rebecca didn't have any intention of sticking around. She didn't have much of an idea of what to do anymore. Nathan and Rebecca had talked about what would happen after high school, but the plans seemed dimmer and dimmer. Rebecca had previously been debating on applying for a designing school, and getting into the fashion world a little more with her artistic talent. Nathan was dead-set on being a chef; he just loved to cook (and Rebecca just loved to eat what he cooked) too much not to do it for the rest of his life. He wanted to study in Hawaii to spend more time with his large, extended family.

In the end, they had booked two flights for Lahaina, Hawaii. Rebecca didn't want to follow Rachel to Spokane. She planned to come back, in a few years. Whenever she could stop thinking about the little memories every time she turned the corner. Everything was falling apart, slowly, gradually...She rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. Rachel stared blankly on at the band on the stage as the ceremony continued, gripping the sides of the framed document tightly.

Principal Kenly smiled as the last diploma was handed out. "And now, I'm proud to present to you, this year's graduated seniors!"

* * *

_Issues, mistakes, questions, random babblings...feel free. Flames make me somewhat downtrodden, but they're okay too._

_**Edits: very little, just trying to get the time frame right. Dates have been added, but here's the basics._

_1994 - Renee and Charlie divorce._

_1997 - Billy is diagnosed with diabetes._

_1998 - Rebecca and Rachel graduate. Sarah dies in a car crash. Remus decides to leave Britain to search for Sirius, and I've changed how much information he knows; he knows that they are in Washington in the United States.  
_


	8. Chapter 8

_I have a question. Does anybody else have a problem remembering how to spell Carlisle's name correctly? I keep putting Carlslie first and then looking back at it and thinking it looks funny. I don't really want this to be a completely sad story (which it's been so far), so the mood's going to change a bit. Moving on...The year is 2003, and we're starting with the Cullens. _

_Thank you for the reviews (seriously, thanks; they're really encouraging when I don't really feel like writing anything), and happy reading.  
_

_

* * *

_Rosalie stood to the side as the men of the family started piling their boxes into the newly inhabited house. They ran about in strange, crisscrossing patterns to dodge the dripping rain as she filed her nails underneath their glassy awning. "So, Forks, Washington. Rainy place," she held out her nail file, and to prove her point, the metal file came back soaked. "Small, unpopulated town," she described. Esme nodded with a small smile.

This had been Esme's choice of place; she had always liked smaller, tight-knit communities, even if they were rarely accepted into them. On the other hand, Rosalie liked big, bustling cities, and Emmett would settle anywhere as long as there was a major stadium and he was provided season-tickets. Edward had no particular preference as long as he brought his piano; Carlisle was the same, however, the area had to have a hospital so that he could work, and Alice's choices were by-far the strangest because she liked to follow the action she saw in her visions. Jasper would let Alice choose, which got them in more trouble, more often than not.

"If the idea of a small town bothers you, Seattle's only a short drive away. You can shop there," Esme murmured, peering at her most difficultly accommodated daughter with worried eyes, pausing in her rapid arrangement of the local flowers. Rosalie patted Esme on the shoulder. "No, Forks is a great spot, Esme, it's perfect," she assured as the family made their way into the house.

"The house is beautiful, as always," Carlisle said, hugging his wife around the shoulders. Esme smiled in pride and hugged him back.

Edward passed by them without a thought, sinking into the white leather sofa with a relieved sigh and grabbing the remote.

"Edward, have you already finished setting up your music room?" Esme asked, surprised at the speed.

"Jasper helped," he replied offhandedly. "Emmett, I would not appreciate it if you spray painted my grand piano _pink_," he growled threateningly. Emmett backed away from the instrument, holding his hands out in front of him to show his innocence. As soon as Edward turned back to the TV, the largest vampire raced behind Rosalie and hid behind her hair from Edward's mind-reading gaze.

"Carlisle, the La Push wolves aren't going to be happy that we moved back in," Alice said from her seat on the stair rail when Carlisle had picked up the phone book. The coven leader shot a look at the future-seeing psychic.

"Just sometimes, I'd like some sort of surprise," he muttered with a laugh, even as he dialed on his cell phone.

On the other end of the line, the phone rang. Both boys' heads snapped up at the sound, and they shared a quick grin before darting towards the kitchen. Jacob kicked Harry down, but Harry snagged Jake's leg. Jake ended up getting a face full of carpet with the older boy climbing up and over him. Harry snatched the phone, jumping away from his best friend with a grin. He pulled the receiver to his ear. "Ello guv'na! Who's this?"

"This is Carlisle Cullen. May I talk to..." Carlisle glanced at the phone book, "either Billy Black or Sirius Black?"

"Alright," Harry replied cheerfully. He splashed his fingers across the mouthpiece, but it didn't do much to mute it. "SIRIUS! SIIIIIIIRIIUUUS!"

The vampires on the other line kicked Carlisle out into the rain, whimpering loudly. "Dear lord, I can't feel my ears," Carlisle winced, momentarily dropping the phone onto the ground and rubbing said appendages. He wiped away the mud on his new phone before placing it cautiously next to his ear.

Alice giggled from her acclaimed spot on the other side of the house. Shows them to dislike her psychic abilities. Jasper sat next to her with a small grin.

"WHAT?" Sirius bellowed.

"PHONE CALL!" He yelled back.

"WHO IS IT?"

"SOME GUY NAMED CARSIE CULLEN!"

"Never heard of him," Sirius said, striding towards Harry and the phone. Harry shrugged back.

"Maybe it's a wizard?" Jacob questioned quietly.

"Wizards don't know how to use the phone, unless it's a muggleborn," Sirius muttered back. "And I've never heard of the Cullens." _Nobody should be looking for us anymore. It's been too long. British wizards can't still be looking for me! American wizards have already forgotten my face..._

Harry shrugged again and handed Sirius the phone anyways. Sirius shooed the two boys away. If it was a wizard, he would find out soon enough.

"Hello, this is Sirius speaking."

"This is Carlisle Cullen," he repeated. There was an awkward long silence. Sirius shifted on the balls of his feet.

"Uh, is that supposed to mean something to me?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"Well, yes...We just thought to inform you that we were moving in...." Carlisle said quietly. If the Blacks (who were the Alphas of the Quileute tribe) didn't pass it down the generations that the Cullens were vampires..it would be better if they didn't mention it. The old treaty would still be in place and they would follow it to the letter. He really just wanted to talk about new boundaries; the old river had too much overgrowth to really tell where it used to be.

"Er...then...uh, hello, new neighbors. You know, usually, this is accompanied with free brownies from your end of the line," Sirius joked.

Carlisle laughed weakly, and they faded into cricket chirping.

"Why did you call?"

"To...to, er," Carlisle frantically waved at his phone while gawking at Esme. He had no clue what to say. His wife had a thoughtful look, and so did his first son.

"Ask if he knows the Quileute legends," Edward told Carlisle. "Maybe he's not a descendant and we've got the wrong number or something."

Carlisle turned back to the phone. "Do you know the Quileute legends?"

Edward sighed. "This is why you never became a lawyer," he glowered. "Not subtle at all..."

Esme stifled her giggles behind her hand.

Sirius scratched his head on the other side of the line. "Uh, not all that well. Don't tell me you're one of those researchers that want to learn about the tribe?"

"Yes, yes, I'm one of them. Dr...er, Researcher Cullen," Carlisle reassured quickly. "I wanted to know more about the legends and...and....folklore."

"Well, sorry, but I'm not your guy. Billy's out right now, but give me your number and we'll call you back?"

"Yes, please. That would be great." Carlisle replied, sighing in relief. He ignored his children laughing at him in the background as he rattled off his cellphone number.

* * *

Sirius hung up. "What a weird bloke..."

"Who was it?" Jake and Harry asked simultaneously.

"Uh, Researcher Cullen. He wants to know more 'bout Quileute legends and other stuff like that," he said. He quickly scribbled the name Carlisle Cullen at the top of the Post-It and taped it to the fridge. "Jacob, remind me to tell Billy to call this guy."

"Okay!" Jacob chirped, running back to the buzzing TV. Harry swiftly followed his lead. Sirius caught the back of his shirt and pulled him back. "Oh, no, today's Thursday, midget."

"I'm not a midget!" Harry argued.

"Whenever you're over five feet, then you can say that," Sirius said, dragging Harry up to the attic and tossing a thick tome at the soon-to-be freshman. The boy caught it with ease and groaned. "Why do I have to read all this stuff?" He whined, waving the book around. "It's the middle of summer, there aren't any tests over this kind of stuff, and it's not like I have a wand to do," he shot a glance at the title, "_Magic of the Fifteenth Century._ Why do I have to learn this? It's not the fifteenth century, for crying out loud, it's the twenty-first century!"

Sirius shrugged. "Eh, the guy at the bookstore said it was a good reference book. He said the local magic school in California uses them."

"It's not like I'll ever use this stuff!"

"Hey, you're a wizard. You're going to use this stuff no matter what, wanna-be-Squib."

Harry pouted. "Wouldn't be so bad to be muggle, would it? Don't have to bust my brains learning Algebra and ancient magic."

"Oh, stop whining," Sirius said, pushing his godson towards the desk. "You're going to write a good, long report on any spell in that book. Then you're going to type it up and e-mail it to Rachel. She says she's already read it, so no rewording, I-didn't-really-research-stuff from you."

"Yeah, well, what if I don't wanna?"

"Complain again and I'll make you write three."

Harry sighed heavily and opened the dusty tome with his fingers.

* * *

"Hello, psychos invading my house. I'm back, and I want you off my couch," Billy greeted, wheeling his way through the living room.

Obligingly, Jake slid off the couch and crawled his way in front of the television. Even at fourteen, he utterly refused to part from his cartoons. Sirius waved absentmindedly from his spot at the end of the coffee table. He'd been bored lately and was finishing up a puzzle. "Hey," he greeted.

Billy maneuvered himself onto the couch with expert ease. "Hey. Where's Harry?"

"Upstairs. Rachel sent over his weekly assignments. He's finishing up his essay on 15th century magic," Sirius chuckled. "I don't even know 15th century magic, but don't tell him that. He's supposed to learn unnecessary things."

Billy nodded. "Mhms, gotcha." He turned to the television. "Oh, I love this episode. Isn't this the one where Tom goes to the beach and Jerry pranks him to death?"

Jacob nodded with a grin, watching his cartoons happily.

Sirius looked up. "Oh, that's an old one. They're still showing it?"

"It's on cable," Jacob replied. "Cable has _everything._"

The two natural Quileutes were transfixed by the screen as Sirius pieced together all the edge pieces of his five hundred piece Pokemon puzzle.

"Oh, by the way, somebody called today asking for you, Dad." Jacob's eyes flickered towards his dad before returning to the screen.

"Really? Who was it?"

"Some guy named Carlisle Cullen. Says he wants to know more about Quileute culture and stuff."

His father paused. "Did you say _Cullen_?"

Jacob nodded.

Billy muttered darkly and army-crawled his way over to his wheelchair. "Sirius, did you talk to Cullen?"

"Mhm. He's a weird bloke. Said he just moved in and wanted to tell us. He left his number," Sirius said, leaving his puzzle and jogging after Billy, who had wheeled himself into the kitchen. Sirius handed the disabled man the Post-It note with Carlisle's number. Billy snatched the phone and dialed quickly.

"Why are you back here?" he growled angrily into the phone. Sirius nudged Billy lightly. "Don't be so rude."

Billy glared at him and covered the phone with his hand, ignoring the man on the other line who had starting talking quietly in his slightly accented tone.

"They're _vampires, _Sirius. Think I shouldn't be rude anymore?"

Sirius blinked slowly, as Billy returned to the phone. _Vampires?_

"Didn't catch that. Say it again?"

"I'm sorry for irritating you today," Carlisle's voice buzzed through the line. "Forks was the next place on our list."

"Nice of you to tell us that your...family moved back in. What did you want to talk about? The treaty's still on."

"Yes, the treaty is still on," Carlisle agreed. "However, I was hoping that we could meet on neutral ground somewhere, and perhaps, renew the treaty and the borders. Some of the borders have changed since we last stayed here."

"And where would you think this neutral ground would be?"

"I was hoping we could reach an agreement on that."

Sirius blinked. "You could suggest Seattle, or Port Angeles. Outside of Forks and La Push," he whispered.

"Port Angeles any good?" Billy snapped.

"The location is fine with us," Carlisle replied after a few minutes. "May I inquire as to who will be there?"

"The Quileute Elders, which will include Clearwater, Ateara, Call, and me." Sirius pointed frantically at himself. Billy covered the phone again. "Why should you come? You're no help; you don't even know about the treaty!" he hissed.

Sirius pulled his wand out of his pocket. "I have a wand. You don't have any other way to protect yourself, and you can tell me about the treaty _later_." Billy glared. "Fine," he relented. "But if they eat you, I'm laughing at your gravestone."

"Hey, Cullen," he barked into the phone. "My cousin's coming too."

"Understood. When and where shall we be meeting?"

"Seven o'clock, on the seventeenth of June. My friend owns the cafe on East 1st. Eat before you get there."

"That's fine. Also, our children will be enrolling in Forks High, so do not become alarmed."

"Whatever," Billy muttered. "Bye."

He hung up and tacked the Post-It back onto the refrigerator. Billy sighed and banged his head on the granite counter top. "So much drama can't be good for diabetics..." he muttered.

* * *

"Okay, boys, you're staying here tonight. Leah's going to be here in a little bit, and you're going to follow _everything_ she tells you to do, understand?"

The boys nodded as Billy sat across from them with a stern look on his face. Sirius was in the background, gathering up anything they might need. He shot a look at the clock. "Bill, we've got to get going. It's almost half past five, and it'll take an hour and a half to get there if we don't break some laws."

"Alright," Billy conceded. "There's money on the table for takeout, emergency numbers are on the fridge as always, all the ice cream is at Clearwater's house, and don't stay up all night. Leah and Seth should be coming in the next ten minutes. No taking advantage of the babysitter; I've left a list for her of things that you're _not _allowed to do." He pulled out said list. "I even laminated it, so don't try throwing it into the fire again."

"Billy..."

"I'm going, I'm going," he wheeled himself to the red truck. Sirius helped him into the passenger seat before folding up the wheelchair and putting it in the backseat. "See ya," he called as they backed up and raced off in the mud.

They waved from the porch. Leah's car slowed to a stop in front of them, and her younger brother opened the back car door. Jake pulled on his raincoat as Harry yanked out his umbrella from the closet. Harry rushed into the car. Jake made his way over, but then backtracked to grab the twenty Billy had left on the counter. He took the list of rules as well and the emergency numbers--just in case.

Leah turned to look at them from behind and held out her hand. Jake placed the twenty dollar bill in her hand; it was her payment for driving them over there and back, gas money, and the fact that she was probably going to get busted at the end. She shoved the bill in her pocket before racing out of their dirt driveway and making her way towards the highway. Seth filled them in as they drove.

"All the Quileute males are going to Port Angeles," he said. "Our dad went, your dad went, and Embry's dad went too." Seth pulled out a PDA handheld. "All of Dad's appointments are always listed in here 'cuz he's forgetful. He's got a dinner date at seven at Cafe Garden. They've got awesome crab cakes." The younger boy drooled a bit in his fantasy-land.

Jacob grinned. "Ooh, can we get some?" Seth grinned and pulled out his wallet. "I've got enough allowance for some. Sissy, can we get some pasta there too?"

His older sister shrugged, paying close attention to the car they were following and making sure to stay behind and in a different lane. "Sure, might as well. Tortellini good with you guys?"

The other members of the car cheered and started talking quickly. Despite being two years younger, Seth got along great with the other two boys. Their fathers were good friends, and Leah ended up babysitting them all for the most part (not that she minded that much). Jake turned from the conversation and tapped Leah on the shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Thanks for driving us out here and helping us follow our parents." He smiled.

The older girl shrugged. "Not a problem. I'm curious too, to be honest. It's a win-win situation for me. I get some good tortellini instead of pizza for once, and I get paid for driving you all out to Port Angeles. On top of that, I get to plot and plan a stakeout."

"Have they ever done this sort of stuff before?" Harry asked.

Both Clearwaters shook their head. "I don't think they have," Seth replied, turning to Leah. "Have they?"

"Not a dinner date with just the males. Usually, it's a big cookout, you know, for parties and stuff, or a male camping fiesta with the girls having a big sleepover. But this time, it's different. All of us," she referred to the older teenager group, "were pulled in for babysitting jobs. Sam was even hired, and he can't babysit anyone worth shi-er, smack." She turned her blinkers on and switched lanes. The small wolf key chain hanging from her rear view mirror swung back and forth. "I'm not sure what's up."

They trailed off into silence until Seth turned the radio up. They sung along in off-pitch voices for the rest of the hour-long ride.

* * *

Leah insisted they wait until ten minutes after the parents had gone inside. The boys were restrained by their seat belts when they tried to get out, and she threatened to lock them in the car after those ten minutes if they kept struggling. As soon as time was up, all three jumped up and raced towards the stone archway. The older girl followed at a leisurely pace, making sure her doors were locked, she had her phone, wallet, and keys, and that her clothes hadn't wrinkled too badly during the long ride.

They met up at the front and were led to a table for four. Four glasses of water arrived quickly, and Jacob started chugging the glass down. "Aah, so good.."

"Do you know where they went?" Harry whispered across the table.

"One of the back rooms?" Seth suggested. "They're really big. We went to one for my birthday party, remember?"

"The talking scarecrow was awesome," Jake recalled.

"How are we supposed to know what they're doing if we don't know where they are?" Harry asked, frowning.

Leah leaned in closer. "Why don't you guys go all wash your hands? The private rooms are in the hallway left of the men's restroom."

"Sissy, you're the smartest," Seth said with a big grin. Leah only raised her eyebrow. "Of course I am," she retorted. "Anyways, the doors have glass, so don't look through any of them. Just listen, and if you hear somebody familiar, run back here and tell me the room number. We'll figure out a way to listen in later."

A waiter stopped by their table just as they broke up their secret meeting. "What would you like to order?"

"Boys, go wash your hands," Leah commanded. They raced off towards the restrooms. "Well, uh.." she looked at the name tag. "Tim, I'd like to order a salad."

"What kind of salad, miss? And dressing?"

"A Caesar salad with honey mustard. We'd also like some honey wheat bread and a plate of crab cakes, please." She recited without looking at the menu.

Tim nodded. "Alright. Do you want to keep the menu to order something else later, or do you have it memorized?"

She handed him back the menu with a small smile. "Oh, you can have this back. I've got it memorized, unless you guys swapped the lunch special meats again."

Tim laughed. "Ah, a regular then. Well, your order should be done in a bit, miss." He left and went to cater to other tables.

* * *

Leah waited patiently, folding and unfolding her napkin, swirling the slice of lemon in her water, and messing with the salt and pepper shakers. She had just made a picture of Abraham Lincoln out of salt, pepper, and cheese when the boys came back. They dived for their seats, gasping and laughing.

"That was a while," Leah said aloud, before leaning closer. "What did you guys do?"

"Well, we found out which room it was," Seth replied. "But then when we were about to run away, the door opened."

Leah groaned. "Please, please tell me they didn't recognize you!"

"They didn't see us. We bolted out of there and into the bathroom," Jake replied. "It turned out to be Sirius, and _he_ ended up going into the bathroom."

"And then we freaked out, ran into the closest stall, and ended up stacking on top of each other on top the toilet seat," Harry finished before grimacing. "Leah, do you have disinfectant? Please?"

"These toilets aren't that disgusting," Seth argued.

"No," Harry agreed, "but who knows where Jacob's shoes have been." Leah handed over the disinfectant quickly. Harry liberally poured it all over his arms.

"What room are they in?"

"Room eight; the one decorated like a jungle with that blue toucan that squawks in the middle of the table," Jacob told her.

"Okay. I've got an idea on how to listen in, but we're going to eat something first." Leah waved her arm in the air. Tim came accordingly. "Is anything wrong? Your crab cakes and the salad will be here in a moment."

"I'd like to add an order of the Pomadoro Tortellini, with chicken. Don't be light on the sauce either." Leah rattled off.

Tim wrote it down. "I'll tell the chef's." He returned later with a serving tray. "Alright, here's your salad, and that honey bread." He smiled. "Call if you need anything else."

"Will do," she replied absentmindedly, stabbing her fork into a tomato. The three boys quickly grabbed the bread and drowned the whole grain food in butter.

They ate through their meal quickly, and soon enough, Leah was paying the tab.

"Hey, Tim. Would it be alright if we just hung around the restaurant a bit?" She asked politely. If they were going to have a stakeout, it would be best to have permission.

The waiter looked around. The majority of the patrons had already left, and the few were quiet and scattered. "We're not that busy tonight, seeing as it's a Tuesday. I think it'll be fine. Why?"

She looked at Tim, scrutinizing the boy. "Give me a moment," she said sweetly, turning to the boys. She waved them towards the center of the table. "Huddle," she whispered.

They leaned until the quartet bumped heads. "What?" they chirped.

"Tim works here, and he could help us. Should we tell him about our plan, or not? We could work around him, but it's more trouble." The waiter shuffled his feet beside their table.

Jake glanced up and looked at the nervous waiter. "Hey, Tim. Do you do pranks?"

"Er, I used to. Since I've been working, not as much," he replied hesitantly.

"How good are you at not ratting people out?" Seth interrogated.

"I think I'm good. If it's for the sake of a joke, it's fine.."

The boys nodded. Leah smiled pleasantly at Tim. "Alright, they've agreed. Sit."

Tim pulled up an extra chair. "So, what are you guys planning?"

"Our fathers are having a private dinner party in room eight, but they didn't tell us what was going on," Harry said. "It's really weird because they've never done something like this. So, we decided to follow them and figure it out. Can you help us?"

Tim nodded. "I think I can...I'm actually off work right now, but Lorri's the waitress who's serving that room right now. I can take over for her and probably sneak you guys in under a cart or something."

"That would be awesome," Jacob replied, a mischievous light shining in his eyes.

"Okay. Give me a moment." Tim left and returned within a few moments. "Lorri's giving me the rest of her shift. They're still in there, and it's a party of fourteen, but she's been avoiding them for awhile. She won't tell me why."

"That's fine," Leah replied. Tim led them to the back, where he found a large food cart. He covered it with a long red tablecloth. The boys slid underneath just fine, but there wasn't much room left. Leah handed Seth her phone. "Start recording as soon as you get in," she told him. He nodded and let the curtain swing closed. Tim placed some random food items for props; he took some unused spices out of the kitchen, a pitcher full of water, half a dozen glasses, and a large plate of cookies. Tim pushed the cart off towards their stealth mission.

As they entered the room, Tim suddenly understood why Lorri had been avoiding the room for the night.

The group had clearly already eaten, and they certainly weren't arguing in loud voices that could get them kicked out of the restaurant all together, but the tension was thick. Hostility was infused into the air, reverting on sound waves and the choking feeling was amplified as the silence wore on. There were clearly two sides of the table, and neither appeared to take notice as a waiter boy entered the room, pushing a slightly suspicious cart. He moved silently beside them, sticking to the walls of the room. Tim stopped the cart near the corner, and filled a glass of water as he glanced at the occupants of the jungle room.

On the left side of the table, there were darkly skinned men with equally darker hair and eyes. Each one looked a little worn and stressed with wrinkles covering their face, but every single one of them emitted a dark determination, only emphasized by their clenched fists. They wore something he thought he would've seen in the old days, and it strangely resembled traditional Indian garb he remembered from his school days. There was a man in a wheelchair, and while this should have hindered him, it only seemed to strengthen the immense authority he held over everybody else. He was simply cloaked in natural leadership, and each one of the members on their side of the room seemed to turn to him for direction.

On the other side of the circular table, the complete opposite rested. The majority of them looked like teenagers, but they were very strange teenagers indeed. They had the palest skin he'd ever seen (and seeing as how they lived in a rainy spot, that was saying something), and each one was more breathtakingly more beautiful than the last. One was in doctor regalia, and looked no older than twenty; a strange age for a surgeon. They didn't hold the determination the other side held, but they held a sense of otherworldly pride and detachment, as if they weren't really here and whatever the outcome may be, it didn't really matter to them.

Tim thought he'd walked into World War Three negotiations.

The boys underneath the red cloth were oblivious to the tension. Seth pushed the record button as soon as he heard speaking.

"We won't agree to those terms," a man replied harshly. glaring with dark, baneful eyes.

"You won't agree to any terms!" a teenager on the other side yelled back in frustration. "We've been here for nearly two hours and there are absolutely _no _terms you will agree with!"

A blond haired boy pulled the other boy back down into his chair. He murmured words into his ear, and the bronze boy resigned himself to glaring hatefully with his topaz eyes. The tension escalated.

"The roads will be neutral territory," the small girl piped up. Her topaz eyes glittered in mild amusement, even as her frown showed her displeasure.

Another man on the left side of the table murmured his agreement, his gravelly voice echoing across the room. "Forks will be neutral as well. We have friends and businesses in there."

The surgeon nodded. "Yes, that is agreed," his cultured voice flowed and ebbed. "The issue remains, however. The boundary in the forest has yet to be disputed."

A model-like woman on the right side of the table looked at him. "Waiter, leave. You are neither needed nor wanted here," she hissed.

Tim fled quickly. The boys were on their own on this one.

He wasn't going to argue with a lady who looked like she could and would eat his ripped-out guts with pleasure.

* * *

_Er, the waiter incorporated himself into the story. I was thinking about cutting him out entirely and replacing him with Leah, but her father's in the meeting, and after reading over her character a few times, I can't believe that she would be a very good actor. Either way, he won't be coming back. As for the restaurant, yes, Cafe Garden does exist, and yes, it's in Port Angeles. This is the first "part" of a full chapter, but it started getting a little long (right now, it says 5k words) so it'll be split up into two. I haven't finished (er, started..) the second part, so please don't expect it up too soon._

_If there are any comments, confusions, mistakes, arguments, I-hate-you letters, idle ideas..anything else you can think of to mention, please feel free to say it._

_** Itty-bitty edit. Remus was cut from any mention, as well as McGonagall. Instead, Rachel chose to take over Harry's studies. If you're wondering how, she got in a little fender-bender and the driver fixed her car with magic and attempted to erase her memories. She ended up blackmailing him, and he gave her the cellphone number of Professor McKey at the Magical Academy in San Diego. (I just completely made that up in a few seconds. :D) Hopefully, it'll lessen confusions as to why Remus is appearing randomly...  
_


	9. Chapter 9

Harry carefully shifted underneath the table until he was sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees. Seth was leaning against the wall, breathing slowly and holding his sister's baby-blue phone up in the air. He was watching the recording, and as soon as each recording reached the maximum time limit, he would start recording again. Jacob leaned closer to the cloth barrier, trying to listen in even better.

The group outside their little silent sanctuary were still arguing. Sirius, who was sitting between the two factions (the other end had a vampire-thieved empty chair), was waiting until it became a major fist fight. He was betting on the ones who would live in the end. He and Bill would live because Sirius would shoot his vampire-protection spells, which he had spent two hours looking up the night before, at the two of them (first, of course, because he was getting pissed at the other people, so they didn't deserve saving at the moment).

After that, it would be a race; how fast the vampires could kill the other Elders and how fast Sirius could shoot shielding spells. The vamps would probably win (Sirius was horrendously out of practice even though he had made a major effort to train) and he'd probably be lucky to just shield himself (never mind Billy), but his cousin really didn't need to know that.

Sirius sighed as the yelling started up again, slumping over his chair.

Believe it or not, the evening had actually started well. They had introduced each other somewhat politely. They got through all the names, and they had lived through the awkwardness of the hungry Elders going through nine plates of crab cakes. Then, of course, just to miraculously (they probably broke a world record of how long werewolf-descendants and vampires can stay in a room together without death) _ruin_ the good record--they went over the treaty.

After that, everybody were acting like children apart from the main players, namely, Billy on the Quileute side and Carlisle on the Vampire side.

Both men had miraculously remained calm. Carlisle was re-reading the treaty (which had been typed and printed onto computer paper) carefully and making silent adjustments in red ink. Billy was sitting on the opposite side of the table, sipping at his thermos of previously prepared chamomile tea. Bill wasn't as stoic as the vampire though; privately, he was getting slowly frustrated with all the immature yelling. Sirius was happy fiddling with his fingers and watching the explosions from various tempers around the room. Time had taught many lessons that people had thought unteachable to Sirius.

Rushing into things wasn't necessary. Even if they didn't have all the time in the world, doing it once was better than it over.

As such, they waited.

* * *

Edward withdrew himself from the conversation. Jasper's cloak of artificial emotions made the tension in his shoulders leave, and he ran his fingers through his hair. As he slowed down the situation, he noticed something odd. There were...heartbeats underneath the dolly the waiter had pushed in. They were beating quickly and pumped with adrenaline from excitement or fear, and the rhythm of blood was strangely soothing, though he didn't understand why.

Jasper had noticed that his attention had been diverted. _What's wrong, Edward?_

Edward tilted his head to the side and placed his face into his palm as if in exasperation. Jasper's eyes followed his head movement out of the corner of his eye. _Heartbeats? There's somebody listening in?_

Alice tugged on Jasper's hand, and her courteous smile suddenly froze, and her eyes slowly clouded over. Jasper waited patiently, and suddenly, her absentminded smile became an overly excited one. _Oh, they won't cause too much trouble,_ she told Edward, _they're three Quileute boys._

Edward sighed. He'd gotten caught up in the arguments and the _other_ yelling thoughts that gave him a headache to notice the three arrivals. Really, if someone decided to attack the Olympic coven, this was the best time. When they were having a conference with wolves, tempers flew, cautiousness went out the window, and they were too scatterbrained to realize what their senses were saying.

"Are you sure?" he murmured quietly and too quickly for the humans to hear.

_Yes. They don't want to cause trouble...in fact, they plan to leave after we do and make it back home before their parents get there._

Carlisle's eyes flickered towards them before returning to the treaty. _Edward, what's wrong?_

"There are people underneath the trolley and listening in," he replied.

_We aren't going to do anything, are we?_ Esme asked worriedly. _They don't know anything about us, do they?_

Edward closed his eyes and sunk into the thoughts permeating the room.

_These vampires are so pathetic...why can't we just kill them and save us the trouble.._

_Agh, I wish Judah would stop yelling!_

_I wonder...would this tea taste better if I put that fancy honey from New Zealand in it..?_

Edward tried to change his hearing to another direction.

_Mm...Rose looks so hot when she's pissed..._Edward winced. Emmett. The pervert. Traumatized..

_Oh dear, I hope this doesn't turn into a blood bath..._ Ah, Esme.

_Edward, ignore the yelling...what is this, old English? Would it have hurt the wolves if they translated this to regular English? I haven't read old English in years...Make sure Alice doesn't jump out of her seat and accost the boys underneath that cart. She's hopping in her seat...And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele.__..And lead thou us not in temptation, but lose us of evil.__.the wolves put bible verses in here? When did we ever agree to that?_ Edward shook his head. Carlisle's thoughts were slightly confusing. More than once, Edward wished Carlisle wasn't a multi-thinker.

_I wonder how much longer this will take? I promised Harry that I'd play a game with him when we got home..._ Yes! Edward latched onto the thinker's thoughts out of relief. There were only so many complaints and worries he could take. This person was rather relaxed and seemed to be lightly dozing, so it was only the better. It was more of a detour, but he'd find the right thought trains later. His head hurt.

Edward snuck into the mind and settled in.

Thoughts of a small boy with ruffled hair ran through the man's thoughts. _Son? _Edward wondered. The man was imagining his son and him playing a board game when he got home. An image of a dark-haired pale man sitting on the ground next to a table flew through Edward's mind, sitting next to a boy with long dark hair. The man was whining like a child as he was promptly trampled in the game by the youngster. The boy's laughter were like bells, and his emerald eyes twinkled like stars. Edward felt...homesick.

They didn't remember their family life. None of them did. The coven was a replacement for it all...even if they did play games, even if they did enjoy the rest of forever as a family, it wasn't the same. Edward couldn't remember if he'd ever had such memories with his father, and it left a familiar empty feeling in his chest.

The man was gushing over his son now and his family. Edward left before the empty feeling started to ache. He pushed it away for another day and concentrated again.

_Stupid vampires...if they'd just agree we'd be done with this!_ Nope, it was a vampire hater. Next!

_Woo...counting..sheep. One sheep jumps over the fence, one sheep jumps across the bridge, one sheep jumps over the cliff..oh wait, he's dead now......I can see why Sirius said I should never be a writer.._ Edward twitched. Okay, insane weirdo. Next!

_Hm, sissy has a pretty phone...Why can't I get a pretty phone? When we get home, I'm telling daddy I want a cell phone too..._ Okay, that voice didn't sound familiar. No members of the council had their cell phones out..and he was pretty sure none of them would use words like "sissy" and "daddy" anymore. Edward tuned himself in and ignored the rest of the table. He pulled his mind through the other person's senses and took a backseat in their mind. True to his assumptions, he was underneath the cart behind a tablecloth. The boy was holding a phone that was recording the conversation, and he caught his own reflection off the metal cart.

The boy was a Quileute boy. Alice was right again; he was a small boy, probably one of the Elder's too-curious sons. One of the other boys turned towards him.

"Seth, do you have any idea what they're talking about?" The other boy was also an obvious Quileute. It was written in his facial features and his mannerisms...actually, Edward would glance a guess that this was the son of the Alpha. He emitted the same waves of independence and leadership, except it was more light-heartened and paled in comparison to his father's ominous aura.

Seth shrugged. "I don't have a clue, to be honest. They've been arguing all night...I'm starting to get sleepy.." He drooped his head. The cell phone beeped. Seth's head popped back up again and he clicked a button to make it start recording again.

"Mm...they're yelling about an old...treaty. Like, the one Mrs. Hartford made us memorize in 5th grade," another boy said, staring intently at the curtain wall. It was as if he could see right through it and the occupants. Seth leaned forward to get a good look, and Edward saw the boy.

He wasn't a Quileute...It was the boy from the other man's vision, but here, it was strangely apparent that they weren't blood-related. The man was paler than his son, and while both had dark, somewhat long hair, the boy's curled every which way as it brushed his shoulders while the other man's was naturally straight and fell past his shoulder blades. Their eyes were nothing the same, apart from the fact that they were both exotic colors he wasn't used to seeing.

He wasn't a Quileute at all. He didn't look like one, he didn't smell like one, and he didn't _act_ like one.

If anything, Edward would really say he was more like a Cullen, apart from the fact that he had a beating heart.

The Quileutes had a habit of making big hand motions with their arms. The boy made small movements with his wrists and fingers to prove his point. The wolves were stubborn with their stupid ideals, whilst the boy had intelligence shimmering in his eyes and a quieter air of serenity around him. The wolves were built for strength, the child was built for speed.

"Harry, d'you have to be so smart?" Seth whined.

Harry. Edward repeated the name in his mind. The Quileute boy who wasn't.

Harry put a finger to his lips. "Shh, they're talking again.."

"Ah, I've finished editing," Carlisle said. "Would you like to add or cross anything out, Billy?"

There was a rustling of paper and the clatter of a pen.

"We're going to look this over together," another man said.

"I don't agree with this!" one called out.

"You can't be serious...we're not going to give you the forest closest to Forks..!"

"We won't do any of this shit ev-"

"Shut up."

"Billy, you can't be serious-"

"I SAID SHUT UP." Billy's voice thundered out.

There was prolonged silence as the other Elders waited for Billy's order.

"I want everybody out of this room except for me, Sirius, and the vampires."

"We won't do that!"

"What if they attack?"

Billy sent them a glare. "I said get out. Do I have to repeat myself, or spank you like children?!"

The opposite, young Quileute boy let out a soft whistle. "Whoo, Dad's pissed offf..."

"Can't believe my dad acted like that," Seth replied with a sigh. "Got himself kicked out of a meeting...Oh, Leah's going to have wonderful blackmail at the end."

Harry shushed them again.

The other members of the council shuffled out of the room. Sirius shifted in his seat. Edward left Seth's mind quickly and quietly.

Carlisle noticed his sudden revitalization. "Edward?" he questioned.

"They don't know, but perhaps they should be exposed or escorted out," Edward suggested.

Billy and Sirius sat in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Carlisle smiled disarmingly. "It shall not bring any harm to you; we will be discussing something privately. Please grace us just one moment?"

Billy nodded and crossed his arms.

"Who are they exactly?" Rosalie asked with a dark look on her face.

"Two are the sons of wolves...one from the Alpha. There is a third one which has a relation to the non-Quileute one," Edward referred to Sirius, "but I am not sure of the relationship."

Alice tilted her head to the side. "They would learn of us anyways," she murmured. "Sooner or later, they would know."

"Maybe sooner instead of later is better then, in that case?" Esme replied. "Instead of leaving them with half-truths and letting them spread rumors, we could just tell them outright, perhaps."

"No, that's _not_ a good idea! The less people know about us, the better!" Rosalie argued.

"It would keep us safer," Jasper backed her up hesitantly.

"I do not believe so." Carlisle spoke up. "Perhaps they wouldn't know the truth, but speculation can be worse than the harsh truth in this situation. If we give the children the truth, it won't be an issue when they're older. Also, if the Quileutes become wolves during our stay--they can convince them that we aren't _evil_ like their parents justify." His mind drifted back to biblical phrases in the old treaty.

Esme nodded in agreement with her mate.

"Emmett?"

The largest boy shrugged. "Personally, I'm not with it or for it.."

"If so, then you're outvoted," Alice chirped. "We tell them!"

"Alright then," Edward agreed. Rosalie sulked. Jasper shrugged a bit before letting it go.

"So? Are you done discussing whatever it was?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, we have intruders." Sirius immediately stood up.

"No, no, they aren't harmful," Edward assured, putting his hands up in a show of innocence. Despite so, Billy scowled darkly. "I believe one is your," he pointed to Billy, "son."

"Jacob?" Billy blinked, but recovered quick. "JACOB! GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE NOW!"

The boy obligingly came out from under the cart. He shuffled his feet under Billy's glare. The irritated father looked like he desperately wanted a stress ball. "HARRY!"

The green eyed boy came out quietly, slipping out clumsily and standing next to Jacob. Edward felt like a pervert for admiring him so much..he was, what, a hundred years old? The kid was only thirteen!

"How did you nutters get away from Leah?" Sirius asked, sitting back down. He looked truly excited to know.

"Well, she's really easy to conv-" Harry slapped Jacob across the mouth. "Jakey, shut up."

"Is Leah here?" Sirius questioned, standing up in front of the boys. They shot each other a look, and turned back with innocent smiles. "Which means Seth is also here." Billy concluded.

"Seth, come out."

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Black and Mr. Black," Seth said, bowing formally and inching his way to the door.

Jacob grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Oh, no you don't! If we're getting busted, I'm dragging you down with us!"

"Loyal to the end," Harry sing-sang. "The captain must go down with his ship."

"I'm not a captain. I'm a midgety crew member! I AM NOT GOING DOWN!" Seth screamed, struggling for all his might and grasping at the door. He managed a hold on the door frame as Jacob pulled the boy back by his heel. Harry wrapped his arms around Jake's waist and tugged backwards. The three boys somersaulted backwards and ended up in a disoriented pile.

"Boys, stop it," Billy said, rubbing his temples. "Sirius, go find Leah."

"Aww, but I wanna see you blow up at theeem..."

"Don't make me kick you out."

Sirius saluted. "Be back in a jiff." He marched out of the room in a stick-figure like action.

Billy sighed. "Must get the man a dictionary," he mumbled. Emmett snorted. Billy glared. "Fine, meathead. Make sure the boys don't run away." He wheeled away towards the corner with his phone. Emmett looked in utter confusion. "Is that allowed? Can he call me a meathead?"

"It's legal," Alice replied cheerfully. Sirius returned with a trailing Leah as Billy finished his phone conversation.

"Hey Mr. Black. How are you?"

"Cut to the chase," Billy growled. "Not in the mood."

Leah shrugged and plopped down in the seat next to Alice. "Am I getting paid?"

"No. I don't consider this babysitting."

"Alright," she conceded. "I'll just start sending video files of all the yelling Seth's been recording...I mean, somebody's going to pay some good bucks to stop it..." On cue, Seth handed her the phone and she clicked a button for playback. Dozens of voices streamed out.

As Leah and Billy started bargaining over the price of her collected blackmail, Sirius had turned the boys around to face the vampires.

"Boys, say hello and introduce yourselves." The three boys waved. Jacob started quickly. "I'm Jacob Black. The shorty next to me is Harry Potter, and we're cousins." _So the story goes._

The last dark haired boy grinned, rolling back and forth excitedly on his feet. "I'm Seth Clearwater!"

Carlisle smiled pleasantly, making sure to show no teeth as he rose from his seat. "It's nice to meet you boys. My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my wife, Esme," he pulled a woman with a heart-shaped face and soft caramel curls closer to him. The woman waved a delicate hand and her beaming face reminded them of a very nice nanny. _Can she babysit us instead of Leah? _"This is my family."

The shortest vampire waved first, jumping to her feet and rocking back and forth. She smiled cheerily, "I'm Alice, and this is Jasper!" Alice pulled Jasper's arm and swung it back and forth like an excited five year old. Her boyfriend held a patronizing smile and nodded at the boys. When nobody else seemed too excited to introduce themselves, Alice continued with exuberance.

"The big guy's Emmett, and the lady on his arm is Rosalie. The sulking one is Edward."

Rosalie waved a finger with a strained smile as her husband beamed with a grin. Edward nodded formally. As soon as the introductions were over, Sirius pushed them into seats.

"Debriefing!" Sirius yelled. "Edward reads minds, Alice sees the future, Jasper knows what you're feeling ("It's called empathy," Harry clarified.), Emmett's massive, Rosalie insults you 'till you cry and their parents are saint-like good doers."

"Cricket, cricket, cricket," Seth chirped.

Jake shrieked and sat in the seat next to Edward. "What number am I thinking? What number am I thinking!" he asked rapidly.

"Fifty-eight, now please, get out of my personal bubble!" Edward growled, pushing the chair away from him. Quileute wolf stink right next to him was unbearable. Jacob bounced back with even more excitement.

Seth saddled up to Emmett. "What'd you eat?"

"Bear."

"Sweet! Can you get me some?"

Harry was slightly disbelieving. "Say what?" Sirius scratched his head. "What did I forget...."

"There's _more_?"

"Oh yeah! They're vampires too," he said with a grin.

Harry was speechless. His counterpart, not so much. "Sweet! Can you bite Leah?"

"Uh, no. No no no," Carlisle shook his head furiously. "We don't drink from humans."

Jake snorted. "I never said anything about drinking."

"We don't bite, or drink, from humans. Only from animals," Esme replied for her husband.

"Can you eat our neighbor's dog? Everybody hates him," Seth requested.

"No. We're trying _not_ to be a menace to society," Carlisle attempted to explain.

Harry smiled innocently. "You're not being a menace. It's called community service."

Carlisle blubbered.

Rosalie stroked Emmett's palm. "I think I actually don't mind these kids as much as their parents."

Emmett grinned. "Sort of funny."

"Funny?" Edward snorted as he pushed Jake away with a finger. "Want to trade stalkers? I'll take the hyper one, you can get this..._psychotic_ one."

Jacob's mouth was moving a mile a minute. His wide, dark eyes were sparkling in excitement, and he had taken to tugging at Edward's arm, fascinated with the cold, marble appendage. Edward thought he was strange enough before; now, his other hand was on his phone, a button away from calling the mental institute.

Rosalie's amusement permeated the room. The mood had lightened considerably, and Billy had dragged Leah to a seat before rolling himself towards the table.

"As fun as introductions are, we have business," he interrupted. "If, should you feel to meet together again, another date may be arranged," he directed at the whining children. Carlisle nodded and gestured for the standing coven to return to their seats. He intertwined his hands and placed his chin on top of the mesh. "What disagreements do you have with the changes that I've made?"

Billy skimmed through the well-edited document. "The boundaries. It is still very undefined and susceptible to change. I would like to avoid another meeting between your coven and our council if at all possible." Carlisle agreed; he could tell his coven was exhausted with all the irritable members. The elder Quileute frowned and debated on his own mind before uncertainly beginning. "I would like to change the agreement that we would stay off each others' land."

The coven leader's pale eyebrow rose. "And pray tell, why? It seems your council would much rather that we didn't share the same continent, much less the same territory."

"Should we ever come into any...troubles, we would appreciate help." Sirius nodded in agreement, thinking of the incidents back home. "In the same manner, should you ever need help, we would extend our courtesy to you."

"Would this only be applicable in emergencies?"

Billy shrugged. "With permission, I suppose it could also be permitted for more...casual greetings." He shot a look at his son, who still was staring in abstract curiosity at the vampires (currently, he was investigating Alice's strange eye color; Alice appeased the boy by opening her eyes wide and pulling her eyelids back) and trying to see if they had strange markings, like aliens.

"I think that would be acceptable."

Sirius nodded. "Alright then. In that case, straight on to borders." On Billy's request, Sirius had brought along a map that outlined the forests, highways, and area of Forks and La Push. He immediately pointed towards an open clearing he had noticed the other day. "I've checked this place out, and it's in the forest. There are a series of totems built by the Quileute tribe, and the clearing was used for any late-night rituals of the sort. The totems stretch from this point here," he marked a point with a red marker, about a half a mile south of clearing, "to about here." He made another mark about a mile north of the clearing. "There is a totem every few hundred feet, but most are rather deteriorated, which is why they aren't shown in any of the tours of La Push. It's the best marker I could find, and they've lasted for quite a while."

"Would that be an adequate border? Despite the fact that it doesn't stretch all that far and isn't as precise as either of us would like to be, it _is_ out of sight and unlikely to change. The forest belongs to the Quileutes, and we have more than a few environmental tree-huggers to let us keep it."

"I think that would suffice for now," Carlisle agreed.

"Wait, does this mean that I can't go to that side of Forks or something?" Leah asked, indignant look on her face.

"You can drive through it, but stopping isn't allowed," Billy confirmed. "There's no business in the forested area, so it should not be a problem."

Leah shrugged in reply.

"Then it's final?" Rosalie's irritated voice snapped.

"Yes," Billy growled, equally hostile.

Both parties signed at the bottom of the page. Sirius quickly snapped the treaty back and tucked it into his sleeve. Leah hefted a boy under each arm and nudged her little brother to leave.

"Meeting adjourned."

* * *

_I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long. I know I haven't updated in forever, but really, I still don't like this chapter (I wasn't in the best of moods when I started, so I'm terribly sorry for the tone). Probably because it holds nothing amusing to me except for information; I think it's a really boring chapter, but unfortunately, it's sort of needed. Annoying foundation..._

_Excuses of mine? I have SAT things, I had writer's block, I'm actually failing History...etc, etc. I'm really grateful for the people who have continued reading this, so I'm a little upset to say that it will be a long time until another update. Life is catching up with me; I'm a sophomore this year in high school, and there's SAT, AP courses, marching band...Apart from that, I really do want to revise this story; there are just some issues that need tweaking, and I'm a little frustrated at the idea that I'm just winging this as I go along--I have no planned plot, just vague outlines....it's very iffy as it is._

_(If you read all that, thanks for listening. If you didn't, I don't feel bad.)_

_Thanks for reading~ :D (Comments, reviews, concerns, typos, misspellings, not-fitting-with-cannon are welcome.)_

_**I'm sorry, but the next chapter will take a while. I'm having timeline issues, along with scene issues...last chapter, I say Harry's a freshman, but that implies he should have received his letter....things are happening too **late**, so the story will be rearranged (more-than-likely) while I figure out what I'm doing...  
_


	10. Chapter 10

The night was filled of explanations and punishments. The boys were under house arrest, and Leah's keys were confiscated. Fortunately, Harry nicked the caller ID machine, and neither adult could figure out where he hid it. The search went on 'till near midnight before they claimed defeat and went to bed.

* * *

Harry wasn't an early riser. Everyone in the house tip-toed across the boys' shared room if it was before noon out of fear of Harry's horrible temper. It was the one thing Billy was scared of facing, more than Rachel's mood swings and Rebecca's whining, or even Sirius' bouts of sugar.

Yet somehow, Jacob seemed to miss the memo.

Jacob woke up early that morning, a hop and a skip in his step, with the utmost determination to do something today.

He crossed the bedroom to Harry's bright blue coverlet, and jumped onto the bed. Harry gave a pitiful moan, throwing his bedside cup at Jake. The plastic cup bounced off the hard-headed boy's forehead harmlessly. Jake rocked the bed in hopes of waking Harry up. The older boy grumbled unintelligibly. His foot shot out and caught the Quileute around his ankle and tossed him to the ground. Jake was undeterred though. He jumped right back up and started shaking the lump in the mattress.

"Come on, Harry! Show me your hiding spot. I want to call the vamps!" Harry opened one eye. He swiveled his head slowly to gather Jacob's eager face, then slapped him across the face before dropping back to his pillow. "Jak's a 'tard.." he mumbled, pulling the covers over his head.

"Come on! HARRY!"

"Shaaadupp.."

"It's like...ten in the morning! PLEASE!"

"Three hours too bright," the asleep boy protested.

Jacob glanced at the covered window. "There's no sunlight.." He even looked through the shutters at the torrential monsoon-hurricane downpour. "It's raining anyways! How can you say it's _bright_?"

"You too loud, blockbrain."

"Harry!"

"Jaaakkii, shuddup." He rolled over onto his back and yanked his pillow over his head.

"Come onnnn Haarrwiiiee!" Jacob whined.

Harry's foot shot out and kicked the teenager in the stomach. "You talk 'nymore 'n its gonna be wh're da sun dun shine."

Jacob scooted ten feet away. "Aw, come on, please Harry! Tell me where it is."

"Broccoli."

"No, I don't want broccoli."

"Broc-co-li."

"I don't even like broccoli!"

Harry sighed. "It's in the stinkin' broccoli! Now, SHUT UP AND LET ME SLEEP!"

"Aye aye Captain!" Jacob scurried to the kitchen. He yanked the refrigerator door open and pulled the broccoli from the bottom drawer. He sniffed. Harry was the only one who liked broccoli; everyone else acted like they were allergic to it. Jake snatched the caller ID machine that was firmly buried in the small tree and threw the vegetable back into the fridge.

He jacked the cord into the wall and sat on the ground with the phone.

_Ring, ring..ring...ring... _

_"Hello, Cullen residence."_

Jacob squealed. The person on the other line dropped the phone. "Haha! I found the right phone number! I'm AWESOME!" He danced happily.

_"Edward's stalker, are you still on the line?"_

"Yes ma'am!"

_"Great. Now, click the red button on your phone and leave us alone_._" _

"Wait wait wait!" Jacob yelled into the phone. "Wait, I wanna talk to you guys again!"

Rosalie frowned darkly on the other side of the telephone. "Let me think about this....no."

"Aww, but why not?"

Rosalie threw the phone at Edward. "Take care of your fanboy," she snarled.

Edward looked up from his CD player. "Hello?"

"Canwelikemeetupwitheachother?"

"I'm afraid not," he declined. "We plan to furnish our home. Sorry."

"Oh, that's okay. We can help you pick stuff out!"

"I don't believe your taste would match ours.." _I don't want to know what your house looks like on the inside..._

"Oh, I don't pick things out--Harry says that red and purple don't match the zebra fan I wanted. I just test if they're sturdy!" Jake replied with a grin.

"I believe we can handle ourselves," Edward persisted. "Emmett enjoys testing the sturdiness of furniture anyways. Either way, it is a Saturday...why don't you all go out on some family outing?"

Jake shrugged. "Sirius doesn't like family stuff too much. He says he always ends up going to the hospital with something broken and he's tired of getting crutches." Jacob decided to omit that those events had been years ago, when his sisters were still here and experimenting with various sports.

Edward was at a loss. "Pleaaasee?"

He gave the phone to Alice, who had been sitting beside him on the couch in giggles.

She smiled cheerfully at him. "Hello, Jake? This is Alice speaking."

"Hi Alice!"

"We wanted to go shopping as a family. Is that alright with you?" She pulled the pity card. "Rosalie and Emmett always shop on their own, Edward doesn't like staying with us, and Esme always wants to go to the baby stores...we never really have some family time..."

"Oh. Okay. Maybe next time then?"

"We'll call you." Alice clicked the phone off.

"Which, I hope, we never will," Edward remarked.

* * *

At high noon, Harry woke up on his regular schedule. He yawned and made his way down to the kitchen. Jacob sat at the kitchen table, pushing long-since soaked cereal around his bowl. Harry glanced at his partner in crime as he grabbed a yogurt from the fridge and took his place across from him.

"Exactly how long have you had that cereal?"

"Ten thirty-nine and fifty-six seconds in the morning," he replied promptly.

"Why?"

Jacob's sulk darkened. "The Cullens are going furniture shopping."

Harry stuck the spoonful of key lime yogurt into his mouth. "What does that have to do with cereal?"

"They wouldn't let us go," Jacob whined. Harry translated: Jacob was sulking like a baby and refused to eat his cereal. Like a baby.

"So?"

"Aw, you can't tell me you're not curious about them!"

Harry swirled his yogurt. "I'm sure you're more than curious enough for the both of us," he yawned. "And anyways. I'm sure they want some time away from us."

"But why?! They can have all the alone time they want _later_, but I'm only alive for so long!" Jake continued, swinging his spoon around and leaving splatters of milk across the table. "They've got forever and a year to have alone time. They've only got, like, a century with _us_."

Harry sighed. Jacob wasn't going to get off his tangent anytime soon. "Later, do you want to grab our bikes and go over to Seth's?"

"We're grounded," Jacob replied sourly.

"I'm sure they'll unground us the instant Billy hears your whining," Harry muttered.

"What was that?" Jake took a bite of his cereal and frowned.

"Nothing." Harry dropped the empty yogurt cup in the trash. "I'm going to ask Dad anyways."

"Mhms." Jacob shoved another bite of soggy cereal into his mouth before he could regret it.

Harry wandered into the living room. Sirius took one look and snorted at Harry's drawstring pajamas covered in rubber ducks. Harry gave a pointed glance towards his godfather's Snoopy pajamas before turning to Billy. "Can we go to Seth's?"

"You're grounded."

"Jacob's whining that the vamps rejected him," Harry replied. "I am not above giving the boy a microphone, hooking it up to the surround sound, and making you listen to him for three hours."

Billy winced. "Sirius-"

"Let me get my jacket." The man replied.

* * *

Remus gave a great big sigh. Even though it was summertime (he even checked his calendar), it only went to about the twenties Celsius (which was apparently actually the seventies in Fahrenheit?). He thought it was insane as he curled his heavy coat around his shoulders. If he ever vacationed, he was going to Spain. It was warm in Spain. Remus was comforted by the idea of long siestas and good food in the distant future.

His breaths came out in ghostly whispers. He'd gone across most of the state, choosing to "sweep" from the most southward city to the northernmost cities. It seemed rather simple, but he had underestimated how hard it was to find two people in such a large state. It was an awful lot of land and forest to cover for one itty bitty werewolf.

He started his journey five years ago.

Slowly, he had gotten into a pattern. First off, find a place to stay, then find food. Afterwards, it was a throw in the air. Either find a temporary job while he searched this area, or start calling in the phone book. He'd talked to a few of the locals about a decent motel and it was just a short walk from the bus stop. Teenagers walked up and down the streets, peering at the foreign man as he huddled in his coat with his raggedy trunk. Remus took no notice--what was a few little curious stares compared to hateful glares? The motel was a little rundown, but it was cheap and there was a small refrigerator, a shower, and a heater. He turned the heater on high and collapsed on the bed.

Was there even hope of him finding them? Ever?

He shook his head, flinging wet water droplets all over the bed comforter. "No. I _will_ find them, and it's only a matter of time," he told himself. With firm resolve, he pushed his trunk against the wall, left the roomy comfort of the motel room and made his way back out onto the street. Food was next.

* * *

"How long did you get?" Seth asked, quickly placing a card down in their game of Egyptian Ratscrew. "Dad would've grounded us for a month, but Leah sweet-talked our way out of it. We've got a week."

Harry played a Jack. "We have a month and a half." Jacob played a five and Harry collected his large pile of cards. "Of course, with Jake's whining, I'm sure Billy can't take too much."

Seth lost the next hand to Jake, who cheered at his sudden recovery. "But hey, can you believe it? Vampires, in our neighborhood! It's going to be so fun!"

"Do you even know where they live?" Harry asked.

"Uh, somewhere in Forks, right?" Seth replied, slapping down a nine. "I mean, they can't go on Quileute lands or anything, so there's nowhere else really." He looked to the older boys.

"Yeah, that sounds right..." Jacob muttered darkly at he looked at his shrinking pile of cards and Seth's growing pile. "Do I just have bad luck or are you guys cheating?!"

"Jacob, you just choose the worst deck." Harry replied with a snort as he took Jacob's last cards. "Is Leah home?"

"Nah, she's with her _boyfriend_," Seth made a face. "Mom kicked them out hours ago when they kept trying to suck each other's faces off."

"Well, that sucks," Jacob whined, leaning back onto the carpet. "She could've driven us to Port Angeles again."

"The vamps went furniture shopping," Harry explained. "Jakey's whiny because they rejected him. Is Leah leaving for college anytime soon?"

Seth shrugged. "She hasn't really said anything about it." He abandoned the card game as the old grandfather clock rang. "You guys better leave soon. Mom's coming back from work early 'cause our cousins are visiting. I'm not supposed to have friends over when I'm grounded."

* * *

"May I apply for a job here?"

The shopkeeper murmured a denial before he was ushered out the door.

Remus walked out into the rainy street and forced himself to keep going. Maybe it wasn't the best time to ask for a job when he looked like a drowned rat, but he was running out of money. In a few more days, he would be out of his own hard-earned cash, saved after years of working odd jobs after graduating. Touching the small fortune the Potters had left him might become a necessity, no matter how much he denied it.

In two weeks of scouring for a British man with the last name of Black in northeast Washington, he'd had little success. Black was a common surname and it worked against him. He had started to call all Blacks through the phone book, but one particularly paranoid Black thought he was a stalker and he narrowly avoided harassment charges. Remus sighed, peering at his muddy shoes. Whichever pureblood lord he'd pissed off with connections to Lady Luck, he was sorry. They seemed to take no pity on him, as in the next second, he ran into a figure and both of them tumbled down.

He scrambled up and held out a hand to the other unfortunate person. "I'm terribly sorry!" He felt even worse when he saw the girl had designer, new-looking clothes that he'd just drowned in mud. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you alright?" The girl slapped his hand away and got up on her own, picking up her umbrella. "I'm fine, no thanks to you," she grumbled.

Remus blushed with embarrassment. "Again, I'm very sorry--is there anything I can do to--"

"Rosalie! Honey, are you alright?"

The woman named Rosalie yelled back. "I'm fine, Emmett!" She flicked the mud off her hands with a graceful gesture.

"I'm honestly sorry, Miss," Remus repeated. Rosalie glared again. "If there's two kinds of people I hate, it's people who could care less and people who can't make up their mind."

She spun in the puddle, spraying him with more water and stalked away. Remus frowned. "Yes, well, I care about whether or not you fell down, and I made up my mind to apologize. _Sorry,"_ he growled sarcastically.

He trudged along with his drenched newspaper to the next spot on the list.

* * *

"Rosalie, did you have to smite that man?" Alice asked once they were in the furniture shop. "He was honestly sorry about it and apologized."

"Well, did you see him?" Rosalie's nose wrinkled. "He was dressed in a ratty old trench coat, smelled horrendous, pushed me down, and got my clothes muddy! Do you have _any_ idea how much this outfit cost me?!"

"I'm pretty sure I know, seeing as it's on my credit card bill," Carlisle replied. "Despite the collision, didn't you notice anything strange?"

"Like what? He smelled like drowned, purified rat water?" Rosalie rung out her long hair carelessly on the carpet. The dealer twitched but refused to comment.

Edward looked up from his reclining position on the couch. "No, like the fact he could actually _push_ you down. Humans are weak. They can't match up to a vampire's strength, so why did you _both_ fall down instead of just him?"

Esme tapped her chin in thought. "Now that you do mention it, I don't recall ever being pushed down by anyone but another vampire."

"He had a heartbeat though," Emmett recalled. "I remember hearing it racing and thinking that if it went any faster, I could have mistaken him for an over-sized rabbit."

Jasper shrugged. "Maybe he has some sort of heart disease?" He had nothing to really contribute; he had taken his time getting to the shop, savoring the smell of rain which diluted whatever smell of human there used to be.

Carlisle shrugged in response. "Perhaps he does, but I can't tell without examination. If he does, I should be seeing him in the hospital soon enough."

* * *

Maybe he should become a misanthrope and live in a cave. Remus had muddled his way across the town with no such luck. Maybe Port Angeles just happened to hate him on this rainy summer day. His stomach rumbled uncomfortably, reminding him of his distant breakfast. He ducked into a fast food place and rung out his jacket, creating a muddy puddle on the floor.

"Credit or cash?"

"Cash," Remus replied, pulling out his wallet. His fingers grabbed at nothing. "Nevermind, credit," he sighed.

Remus handed over his credit card. "Wow, cool card. Is this one part of a set or something?" The teenager remarked.

"Why would you ask?" Remus was desperate after so long--the card was part of a set. Sirius and James had insisted (more like threatened to shave him bald) when they were told you could customize credit cards, so the quartet had a holographic set of their animagi forms.

"Well, this guy came 'round with these two kids and had a really cool card, kinda like this one," he said. "Man, those kids were nuts; climbed on top of the jungle gym and nearly jumped right off. They was-"

"What was the man's name?"

The cashier leaned back. "Not supposed to tell anybody, it's policy. Sorry."

"Can you tell me what he looked like?"

"Er, short black hair. Tallish. I'd say at least 5'10''? Hyperactive parenting if I ever saw it."

"Is his name Sirius Black? I've been looking for him," Remus asked quickly. His hopes rose and shined like a beacon. _Please, please, oh please tell me his name was Sirius Black!_

"Policy," the teenager repeated. _You stupid little kid! Why can't you just TELL ME! _Moony roared in the back of his mind.

"You're not telling me any new information," Remus insisted. "I know him; he's my best friend from high school." The worker still looked unsure, "He told me to visit but gave me the wrong address and my cellphone short-circuited due to all the rain."

"Well, he lives somewhere in the Quileute reservation. I heard that--"

The boy blinked when the man was halfway out the door. "Thanks!"

"Hey, wait, you forgot your order!"

* * *

_I'm really sorry that it's taken this long to update. Again, I could give you a list of excuses, but this one is on me. I wasn't really happy with how the story was going and kept trying to tweak it, and this chapter is...okay as an end result. Very little plot, seeing as my brain is still running on automatic. Review please, or yell at me if you'd like. Again, grammar mistakes, strange wording, point that out. :)_


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